Sales slump puts sector under pressure in Germany and Europe / Weakness especially apparent with SCR tanks for diesel vehicles / Situation could mean a breather for plastics processors / Brexit and e-car issues

Polymer shortage and high prices dog French OEMs / “Structural problems”

Will plastics processor PCMA stay with Fiat? / At least seven plants in Italy affected

Swedish start-up plans to make e-cars at Silverstone / UK facility expected to be making the Uniti "One" two-seater by 2020 / Partnerships with CRP processors and battery specialists

Acquisition of US competitor TransNav targeted / Automotive division to expand further

Automotive supplier opens seat production plant in Czech Republic

Acquisition of Ashland's composites arm for USD 1.1 bn / Deal includes BDO plant in Germany

German group considers establishing own fleet / Shallow Rhine river is costing several million euros

Location and capacity of MDI plant in Louisiana announced / Adjacent to Formosa and Yuhuang's projects

New compounding lines for engineering polymers in China / USD 80m investment

Launch of pilot plastics recycling facility within Schwechat refinery / Synthetic crude processed into fuel and raw materials

Joint venture with Canada's Loop for chemical recycling of PET

Cefic granted funding to advance PMMA recycling in Europe

German plastics recycler sets up research centre in Spain

French packaging manufacturer intends to use more recycled plastics / Joint "Reusal" project with Paprec

Crisis situation for agrifilms recycling in France / Weak demand for recyclates / Price pressure on rPE

BIR founds global recycling foundation / Donors' funds to promote campaigns

Industry giants to contribute USD 90m to preventing ocean plastics waste / Ellen MacArthur announces global commitment for packaging / "Our Ocean" 2018 conference in Bali

Alpla launches compostable capsule made from sunflower husks / Tecnaro organic compounds for sustainable coffee companies / Dynamic market

Albanian ban in effect / Serbian capital to implement restriction on sale of plastic bags in 2020 / Study shows decline in bags in North Sea

US exports of HDPE to China plummet / EU imports more

North America October 2018: Standard thermoplastics roll over / Most engineering plastics move sideways / PA 6.6 much firmer / Falling feedstock prices point to significant reductions in November

China Standard Thermoplastics October 2018: Feedstock costs fall / Stark drop in PET and PS prices / Most domestic notations increase / Weaker yuan dampens import business

Russia October 2018: Prices stagnate for most standard thermoplastics / PS trends upward / PET slumps with declining demand

China Engineering Thermoplastics October 2018: SM and PX costs fall / Overall low demand / National Day Golden Week holiday in first week / Prices for all grades decrease / Negative market outlook

Standard Thermoplastics Trend November 2018: Minor reductions with polyolefins / Styrenics take triple-digit plunge / Occasional supply restrictions with PVC and PP

Standard Recyclate November 2018: Most recyclate prices soften slightly after decline of virgin material notations / Recycled LDPE stable / Only clear rPET grades firm slightly / Increasing pressure expected

Engineering Recyclate November 2018: Weak demand from automotive industry erodes prices for rABS, rPC and rPP compounds / Primary market fuels strong rPA 6.6 increase / Demand remains below expectations

New downward trend expected for polyolefins

Polyurethane feedstocks November 2018: Polymeric MDI and TDI collapse / Long supply and weak demand / More rebates in December likely / Polyols mostly stable

Polymer production rises to 11m t in 2017 / A mere 12% of plastics is recycled / Conversio study documents use of recyclate and balance of trade for first time

Ban on single-use plastic tableware and packaging / Heavy criticism from French and European associations / Poor definitions of items and conflict with EU law