Market Overview

Quarterly Update on Global Methanol Market

For the Quarter Ending June 2020

• Asia

Asian Methanol market remained shrouded with uncertainties amid easing supply from the Middle east. Exported volumes to Southeast Asia continued to feel the pandemic pain despite lift in lockdown restrictions across several economies by the end of Q2 FY20. Slowed demand from the downstream formaldehyde and solvent sectors, which comprise majority of the regional demand, led to mounting of inventories across the ports in India, Thailand and Singapore. Spot Methanol prices in China fell to record lows in the month of June, due to ample inflows of import cargoes further pressuring margins. Although the country seems to get over from pandemic blows, downstream demand is yet to rebound to the pre-pandemic levels.

• North America

Coronavirus weakened the Q2 demand outlook of the North American Methanol market, majorly driven by depressed dynamics in the US market. US Gulf coast spot Methanol prices slumped nearly to four-year lows as the nation continued to lead in terms of number of infections across the world. While downstream demand remained largely staged to the April levels, reduced blending of gasoline due to lower demand fundamentals further exacerbated the price fall. Monitoring the impact of persistent Methanol market dullness, several US giants such as Celanese and LyondellBasell cut their yearly capex plans and postponed their tentative plant expansions.

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ChemAnalyst addresses the key problematic areas and risks associated with chemical and petrochemical business globally and enables the decision-maker to make smart choices. It identifies and analyses factors such as geopolitical risks, environmental risks, raw material availability, supply chain functionality, disruption in technology and so on. It targets market volatility and ensures clients navigate through challenges and pitfalls in an efficient and agile manner. Timeliness and accuracy of data has been the core competency of Chemanalyst, benefitting domestic as well as global industry in tuning in to the real-time data points to execute multi-billion dollar projects globally.

Services

Market Analysis

Company-wise installed capacity, production volume and plant operating efficiency is captured directly from manufacturers. Import and Export volume is captured from government sources and demand for Methanol is calculated considering the production, import, export and inventory-levels on the country and regional level markets.

Pricing Analysis

Methanol price is correlated with the price trend of its feedstock crude oil and Naphtha, and with that of its derivatives such as Acetic Acid, Formaldehyde, Methyl Tert-Butyl Ether etc.

Company Profile

Basic details and information on financial performance of leading global players in Methanol market is presented in a visually captivating manner. Expansion plans and the company’s strategy is also captured to understand the vision and mission of the company to help understand the areas where companies need to focus more.

News & Deals

Daily updates on industry-specific and product-specific news, exclusive primary-based news capturing plant shutdowns/outages/closures, capacity expansions, operating rates, insights on demand-supply situation, awarding of technology licenses, new product launch and deals specifying mergers and acquisitions, strategic investments and disinvestments, to help players capitalize on market opportunity.

Methodology

• ChemAnalyst gathers information through primary research surveys conducted with various Methanol manufacturers, spread across domestic and international market, suppliers and dealers/distributors to gain insights into value-chains and demand-supply scenario to assess the market situation. Thorough study of company’s annual reports and secondary sources such as exhaustive search on credible paid databases, including our internal database is done to verify the information. All the collected information is analyzed, evaluated and presented in chronological order to depict a meaningful and clear picture of the concerned market.
• Our dedicated team of industry experts comprehensively monitors and analyzes various aspects of the Global Methanol market. The team analyzes various industrial segments, strategic viewpoints and provides an analysis of the industry’s performance in the long run. This would enable our clients in efficiently plan their future investments, mitigate risk, understand the cost dynamics and strike out a balance amidst market volatility.
• Critical examination of the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on the global supply chains and shift in demand patterns with change in buying behavior of consumers across the globe.
• Several ongoing development projects across industries are tracked, followed by the details of major projects in the development stage, which can positively or negatively influence Global Methanol market.
• Pricing is captured through exhaustive primary interviews with domestic and international manufacturers, traders and importers and customers on daily, weekly, monthly and yearly basis.
• Finally, region-specific markets for Methanol are analyzed and region-wise demand pattern is tracked.

About

Methanol is also known as Methyl Alcohol and has a chemical formula (CH3OH). Methanol is a colorless, volatile and flammable liquid and is highly toxic. Methanol is produced directly from carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide and hydrogen through a catalytic process. Methanol could also be used as an alternative engine fuel for internal combustion. It also acts as a fuel for model engines in combination with or without gasoline. Moreover, methanol is utilized to produce acetic acid, formaldehyde, Methyl Tert-Butyl Ether, etc. These products are used in various end user industries such as pharmaceuticals, automotive, petrochemicals and for the synthesis of complex chemicals, etc. Methanol is commercially produced from natural gas in a series of three reactions – Steam Reforming, Water shift reaction and synthesis. The methanol thus formed is in crude form having a purity of 68 to 70%. This methanol is then purified to the extent of over 99.85%. Methanol having purity of minimum 99.85 wt% and water content 0.1 wt% max is classified as chemical grade (AA) methanol.