Toray and partners launch end-of-life aircraft recycling program for composites! Borouge Signs $531 Million Logistics Agreement !Boston Scientific Sells Its Park

International News Highlights 

Raw Materials News - Westlake Epoxy and Alpha Recyclage Composites to advance composites recycling

Automotive News - Toray and partners launch end-of-life aircraft recycling program for composites

Machanery News- North American plastics machinery shipments drop again in Q1 2025

Packaging News - Topstar's Whole-Plant Solution Helps North American Customers Achieve Intelligent Upgrades

Medical News - Boston Scientific Sells Its Veteran Campus

Macro News - Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Denies "Iran Transmitting Messages to Israel via Cyprus"

Price Information - Ethylene Asia: CFR Northeast Asia $790/ton; CFR Southeast Asia $850/ton

Details of International News 

Toray and partners launch end-of-life aircraft recycling program for composites
Toray Advanced Composites, Daher, and TARMAC Aerosave announce the launch of a joint End-of-Life Aerospace Recycling Program for commercial aircraft production.Working with Airbus, this collaborative initiative will focus on advancing recycling technology practices in aerospace manufacturing by recovering and reusing end-of-life secondary structural components made from continuous fiber-reinforced thermoplastic composites.

Westlake Epoxy and Alpha Recyclage Composites to advance composites recycling

Corporation announced that Westlake Epoxy will collaborate with Alpha Recyclage Composites to support them in scaling up the recycling capacity for carbon fiber composite materials.This collaboration will provide support to Westlake’s composite customers in their development of improved circular options for both production (scrap or off spec composite materials that otherwise become waste) and end-of-life waste. The recovery of the carbon fibers from composite materials for reuse in new or emerging applications aims to establish a more sustainable alternative to traditional disposal methods such as landfilling and incineration.

Borouge Signs $531 Million Logistics Agreement to Enhance Petrochemical Export Capability

Petrochemical giant Borouge Plc recently announced the signing of a 15-year, AED 1.95 billion (approximately $531 million) cooperation agreement with ADNOC L&S, a logistics services company under Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), to optimize maritime logistics processes and enhance the UAE's petrochemical export capability.

Boston Scientific Sells Its Veteran Campus

Recently, according to the official website of CBRE, the world's largest commercial real estate services and investment company, Boston Scientific has put its 24-acre campus in Minnetonka, Minnesota, up for sale. Records show that Boston Scientific has been operating at 10700 Bren Road West since the 1980s and redeveloped it in 2013. The site now features 225,900 square feet (approximately 21,000 square meters) of modern laboratory, office, and warehousing space, long serving as the core function for its medical device manufacturing.

Braskem, America's Largest PP Producer, Makes a Major Strategic Shift

Considering a challenging environment for the petrochemical industry and a prolonged downcycle-exacerbated by high energy costs and reduced economic activity in Europe-Braskem is redirecting all resources toward its core business: the production of chemicals and plastics. As such, Braskem is divesting from the mechanical recycling joint venture, Upsyde, with Terra Circular, which focused on producing road plates and pallets from post-consumer plastic.

Japan's Ethylene Equipment Utilization Rate Remains Depressed for 33 Consecutive Months

Recently, statistics released by the Japan Petrochemical Industry Association showed that in April, the domestic ethylene equipment utilization rate in Japan was 78.6%, remaining below the 90% target for measuring prosperity for 33 consecutive months. The prolonged downturn in ethylene equipment utilization shows no sign of improvement. The association stated that in view of changing market conditions and reduced utilization rates due to increased regional production, each enterprise is taking measures to advance structural reforms. In terms of adjusting ethylene production equipment, in addition to the announced plan to close two units in Chiba Prefecture and one unit in Kanagawa Prefecture, in April, three companies in western Japan—Mitsui Chemicals, Asahi Kasei, and Mitsubishi Chemical—merged their two units into one. This will reduce Japan's domestic ethylene production capacity by 30% to approximately 4.4 million tons. Regarding this restructuring, Koji Kudo, President of the Petrochemical Industry Association, said it is unlikely that two or three units will be closed consecutively. Closing these units is meaningless unless environmental protection measures are taken simultaneously.

Xycle breaks ground on chemical recycling plant in Rotterdam

Xycle has broken ground on its first commercial-scale pyrolysis plant, located in the port of Rotterdam.Dow, ING, Invest-NL, Polestar Capital and Vopak are among the investors in the Dutch chemical recycler .

North American plastics machinery shipments drop again in Q1 2025

Economy Market Forecast Plastics Processes Shipments of extruders were strong and increased by double digits year-over-year, but injection molding machine shipments were down. Shipments of injection molding and extrusion machinery in North America fell to US$252.1 million in the first quarter of 2025 from the previous quarter, which is a decline of 17.5 per cent from the last quarter of last year and 4.6 per cent decline year-over-year, according to a new report from the Plastics Industry Association’s Committee on Equipment Statistics (CES).

Topstar's Whole-Plant Solution Helps North American Customers Achieve Intelligent Upgrades

In a newly built Mexican food packaging factory in North Carolina, the intelligent manufacturing solution provided by Topstar is operating efficiently. Industrial robots flexibly adjust their operation trajectories according to process requirements, and advanced machine vision technology acts as an "electronic eye," significantly improving the production efficiency and product qualification rate of food boxes. This in-depth cooperation originated from the customer's procurement need for single machines. Topstar verified the performance of the solution through on-site testing at the Mexican factory. According to customer feedback, while maintaining high efficiency, the equipment reduces comprehensive costs by approximately one-third compared to similar European and American products. The excellent performance has prompted the customer to continue purchasing, gradually replacing the original equipment.

Overseas Macro Market Information 

Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Denies "Iran Transmitting Messages to Israel via Cyprus"

The Tehran Times reported that the Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson denied the news that "Iran transmitted messages to Israel via Cyprus." "Iran has not transmitted any messages to Israel through any country, and this claim is completely false," the spokesperson said.

Israeli Refinery in Haifa Hit by Iranian Missile, Causing Fire

Local time on the 16th, a refinery in Haifa, northern Israel, was hit by an Iranian missile, triggering a large fire.

Japanese Finance Minister: Discussing with Markets Is Key to Ensuring Stable Government Bond Trading

Japanese Finance Minister Katsunobu Kato said that before the much-watched meeting between the Ministry of Finance and investors, discussing with market participants is a key factor in ensuring stable government bond trading. He stated that as the Bank of Japan reduces its bond purchases, the government needs to find other investors to fill the gap. The Japanese Ministry of Finance plans to hold a meeting with primary dealers on June 20, three days after the Bank of Japan's policy decision, where the central bank is widely expected to slow the pace of reducing bond purchases at this meeting.

U.S. Diplomatic Facilities in Israel Damaged in Iranian Attack

Local time on the 16th, U.S. diplomatic facilities in Tel Aviv, Israel, were damaged in the missile attack launched by Iran in the early morning of the same day. In the early morning of the day, Iran launched a new round of missile attacks on Israel, and air raid sirens sounded in multiple areas of Israel.

South Korea to Submit Supplementary Budget Plan to the Cabinet on June 19

According to Yonhap News Agency, South Korea will submit a supplementary budget plan to the cabinet on June 19.

Morgan Stanley Raises Q3 Brent Crude Price Forecast

Morgan Stanley: Due to the Israel-Iran conflict, the Q3 Brent crude oil price forecast is raised to $67.50 per barrel.

Price Information

 RMB to U.S. Dollar Central Parity Rate
The central parity rate of RMB against the U.S. dollar was reported at 7.1789, down 17 points; the previous trading day's central parity rate was 7.1772, the previous trading day's official closing price was 7.1813, and the overnight trading close was 7.1853.

Upstream Raw Material US Dollar Market Prices

Ethylene Asia: CFR Northeast Asia $790/ton; CFR Southeast Asia $850/ton.

Propylene Northeast Asia: FOB South Korea average $720/ton, up $10/ton; CFR China average $760/ton, up $10/ton.

North Asia frozen cargo CIF price: Propane $575-577/ton; Butane $543.5-545.5/ton.

South China frozen cargo July upper CIF price: Propane $587-597/ton; Butane $534-544/ton.

Taiwan region frozen cargo CIF price: Propane $575-577/ton; Butane $543.5-545.5/ton.

LLDPE US Dollar Market Prices

Film: $915/ton (CFR Huangpu), up $10/ton;

Injection molding: $960/ton (CFR Dongguan);

HDPE US Dollar Market Prices

Film: $900-915/ton (CFR Huangpu), up $5/ton;

Hollow: $865/ton (CFR Huangpu);

LDPE US Dollar Market Prices

Film: $1,035/ton (CFR Xiamen);

PP US Dollar Market Prices

Homopolymer: $885-935/ton (CFR Huangpu);

Copolymer: $955-1,040/ton (CFR Huangpu);

Film material: $1,025-1,090/ton (CFR Huangpu);

Transparent: $1,085/ton (CFR Huangpu);

Pipe material: $1,160/ton (CFR Shanghai).