November 14, 2023

Fall PFA Highlights

Polyurethane Foam Association Fall Meeting Addresses
Sustainability, Industry Innovation
Gollnitz and Khalil Inducted Into Flexible Polyurethane Foam Hall Of Fame

TORONTO, ONTARIO (November 14, 2023)— Sustainability was at the forefront of the
Polyurethane Foam Association’s Fall
Meeting recently in Toronto.

Top industry executives, EHS specialists,
scientists, marketers, and regulatory analysts
met at the Omni King Edward Hotel for
networking sessions and presentations
covering everything from European end-of-
life requirements to irradiation of
polyurethane foam to yield 3-D printing
resins.

PFA’s Industry Issues Session provided
updates on key markets in the flexible foam
industry, including bedding and carpet
cushion. Additional presentations addressed
legal and regulatory developments,
isocyanate research projects, trade
remedies, and more.

In the Technical Program on the following day, presentations covered foam making equipment
and process controls, biocontent and recycling of automotive foam in Europe, inclusion of lignin
and soy polyols into foam formulations, upcycling of EOL foam into 3-D printing resins, and the
Virginia Tech/Arizona State closed loop recycling project.

Awards: Bill Gollnitz of Plastomer Corporation (L) and Dr. Hamdy
Khalil of Woodbridge Group (R) were inducted into the Flexible
Polyurethane Foam Hall of Fame.

Chip Holton of NCFI
Polyurethanes (Center) was presented with PFA’s Lifetime
Achievement Award.

Chip Holton of NCFI Polyurethanes, PFA’s President, recognized new PFA members including
Reticulatus, Ingenieria Del Poliuretano Flexible, S.L., and PCC Rokita. He noted that since the
lifting of pandemic restrictions, 23 new companies have joined PFA.

“PFA continues to be a very effective voice for the flexible polyurethane foam industry,” Holton
noted. “PFA frequently reminds us that industry advocacy is much stronger as a group rather
than as individual companies; PFA also provides an exceptional forum for the exchange of
knowledge and critical industry information.”

As a highlight of the meeting, two long-term veterans of the industry were inducted into the
Flexible Polyurethane Foam Hall of Fame. The Hall of Fame was established to honor the
leaders and innovators. It serves as an information source for future industry members and
researchers regarding the contributions of individuals and companies who have led the growth
and betterment of the flexible polyurethane foam industry in North America.

Bill Gollnitz, Technical Director of Plastomer Corporation, and Dr. Hamdy Khali, Senior
Technology Advisor for Advanced Technologies and Innovation at Woodbridge Foam
Corporation, became the latest inductees, making a total of 35 individuals and companies
honored.

Gollnitz has more than 51 years’ experience in the flexible polyurethane foam industry. For
nearly 30 years, he has been Technical Director at Plastomer Corporation. Prior to that, he held
group management positions at ARCO Chemical Company and Olin Chemical. He began his
career in the foam industry with Firestone Foam, working as a special assistant to Firestone
President Bob Hay, a founding member of PFA and also a member of the Flexible Polyurethane
Foam Hall of Fame.

He has a deep understanding of how chemistry, manufacturing and suppliers can work together
to advance the polyurethanes industry, and developed a reputation for being able to oversee the
construction of flexible foam manufacturing plants from concept to full scale production. He is a
Past President of PFA, and currently serves on PFA’s Executive and Technical Committees.
“Every time there’s a threat to the industry, be it technical or regulatory, PFA has met it head on.
And I’m sure that’s going to continue in the future,” Gollnitz said in his acceptance speech. He
also expressed gratitude for the education tools PFA has developed to attract young professionals
to the industry, and to assist in continuing education of those who have made flexible foam their
careers.

Dr. Khalil pioneered the introduction and commercialization of renewable materials into the
polyurethane chemistry used in interior automotive parts manufacturing. Under his guidance,
Woodbridge became one of the early adopters of green technologies using biobased polyols.
Khalil also played a leading role in ongoing efforts to harmonize OEM specifications for VOC
emissions from plastics in auto interiors.

He served on the Board of Directors of the Ontario Bio Auto Council, and the Center for
Research and Innovation in the Bio Economy (CRiBE). He acted as an advisor to the National

Research Council of Canada on renewable and sustainable materials technology. Dr. Khalil
received the Outstanding Leadership from the Center For the Polyurethane Industry (CPI), and
the Technical Leadership Award from The Nano Division of the Technical Association for the
Pulp and Paper Industry (TAPPI). He was selected to the Advisory Panel For Arbora Nano for
the Advancement of Lignocellulosic Products. Dr. Khalil received the “Le Sueur Memorial
Award” from the Society of Chemical Industry for Outstanding Industrial Contribution.
His passion is in mentoring a new generation of scientists and engineers.

“Polyurethane is the most versatile polymeric system, and it has been serving humanity in more
applications than any other material known to mankind,” Khalil noted. “However, we have many
challenges. Our industry needs to be aggressive in innovation and building partnerships with
institutions and universities. There is much yet to discover about the potential of polyurethanes.”
After the Hall of Fame inductions, outgoing PFA President Holton was presented with PFA’s
Lifetime Achievement Award.

“All of us in the association appreciate Chip’s leadership over the last seven years,” said Russ
Batson, PFA Executive Director. “Chip has the unique ability to analyze a challenge and focus
everyone on the critical elements, so that we can decide on the most sensible pathways forward.”
Dr. Mojgan Nejad won the Dr. Herman Stone Technical Excellence Award. Her presentation,
“Sustainable PU Flexible Foams: Utilizing Renewable Materials from Biomass and Soy,” was
voted best by those attending the Technical Program. The award is named for Dr. Herman T.
Stone, who served as PFA’s first Technical Director. In 2007, Dr. Stone was inducted into the
Flexible Polyurethane Foam Hall of Fame.

The Polyurethane Foam Association is a trade association founded in 1980 to help educate foam
users, allied industries and other stakeholders. PFA provides facts on environmental, health and
safety issues and technical information on the performance of flexible polyurethane foam (FPF)
in consumer and industrial products. FPF is used as a key comfort component in most
upholstered furniture and mattress products, along with automotive seating, carpet cushion,
packaging, and numerous other applications.

To learn more, visit www.pfa.org.

October 30, 2023

Mattress Recycling Update

Bye Bye Mattress tops the 1.5 million mark for Connecticut mattresses recycled

Sarah Houlton

Connecticut, US – In the eight years since the Mattress Recycling Council’s Bye Bye Mattress program started up in Connecticut, it has kept more than 1.5 million mattresses out of landfill. Placed end to end, MRC said, the mattresses would stretch all the way along the US east coast, from the very north of Maine to Key West in the south of Florida.

In the last fiscal year alone, almost 200,000 mattresses and box springs were recycled. The recycling rate was also increased, to 75%, with 3.75kT of foam, steel, fibre and wood being processed into new products. More than 24kT of materials have now been diverted from landfill in the eight years the program has been running.

“We also cultivated more participation from mattress retailers and other types of businesses that have large amounts of mattresses to recycle at once,” said Dan McGowan, MRC’s north-east programme coordinator. “The mattresses we collect are recycled locally, providing jobs and turning valuable materials into new products like carpet padding and a variety of steel products.”

https://www.utech-polyurethane.com/news/bye-bye-mattress-tops-15-million-mark-connecticut-mattresses-recycled

October 26, 2023

Durable Goods Orders Increase in September

US Durable Goods Orders Soared In September By Most In Over 3 Years

by Tyler Durden

Thursday, Oct 26, 2023 – 08:50 AM

After two straight months of declines, preliminary durables goods orders for September soared 4.7% MoM (far higher than the 1.8% expected), lifting orders by 6.0% YoY…

Source: Bloomberg

That is the biggest MoM jump since July 2020.

Orders ex-transports rose just 0.5% MoM and ex-defense soared 5.8% MoM.

Defense spending tumbled 14.4% MoM but non-defense aircraft spending soared 92.5% MoM…

Source: Bloomberg

Finally, as a reminder, this data is all nominal – i.e not adjusted for inflation.

https://www.zerohedge.com/economics/us-durable-goods-orders-soared-september-most-over-3-years

October 23, 2023

Chemical Rail Traffic Rises Again

North American chem rail traffic rises

MRC — North American chemical rail traffic rose for a ninth consecutive week, with railcar loadings for the week ended 14 October up 0.3% year on year to 44,668, according Association of American Railroads.

For the first 41 weeks of 2023 ended 14 October, North American chemical rail traffic was down 1.1% year on year to 1,857,880 – with the US down 2.3% to 1,275,816.

In the US, chemical railcar loadings represent about 20% of chemical transportation by tonnage, with trucks, barges and pipelines carrying the rest. In Canada, chemical producers rely on rail to ship more than 70% of their products, with some exclusively using rail.

We remind, for last week, total U.S. weekly rail traffic was 499,217 carloads and intermodal units, up 3.0 percent compared with the same week last year. Total carloads for the week ending October 7 were 233,768 carloads, up 3.6 percent compared with the same week in 2022, while U.S. weekly intermodal volume was 265,449 containers and trailers, up 2.5 percent compared to 2022.

https://www.mrchub.com/news/409834-north-american-chem-rail-traffic-rises

October 4, 2023

U.S. Auto Sales Increase

Auto Sales: General Motors Takes Q3 Crown, But GM Stock Drops To New Low

• APARNA NARAYANAN
• 02:15 PM ET 10/04/2023

Auto sales in the U.S. grew for Ford Motor (F), General Motors (GM), Toyota Motor (TM) and Honda (HMC) in the third quarter, fueled by rising inventories and fleet demand. But GM stock made a new low on Wednesday.

Bucking the trend, Chrysler parent Stellantis (STLA) saw declining new vehicle sales.

As expected, GM took the Q3 sales crown, while the autoworkers’ strike extends into its third full week. Both GM and Ford reported sales momentum for electric vehicles, after challenges in the prior quarter.

Auto Stock Ratings

Company	Symbol	Comp Rating	EPS Rating	RS Rating	SMR Rating	A/D Rating
Stellantis	(STLA)	97	95	94	A	C+
Tesla	(TSLA)	96	93	94	A	C
Toyota Motor	(TM)	93	79	92	C	B-
Ford Motor	(F)	84	95	41	B	B-
General Motors	(GM)	73	84	28	A	C-

Here is how automakers performed in Q3. The estimates from Cox Auto show sales volume for the quarter, as well as sales growth or decline vs. a year ago.

U.S. Auto Sales: General Motors

Q3 sales estimate: 658,433 vehicles, up 19.3% vs. Q3 2022.

Results: GM sold 674,336 vehicles, up 21% year over year. Year to date, GM sales are up 19%.

For Q3, the auto giant reported growth across all its car brands. Robust sales of traditional, gas-powered pickup trucks and new SUVs continued to drive gains, along with fleet sales.

GM sold 20,092 EVs in the third quarter, mostly older Bolts.

However, sales of newer-gen EVs also surged, albeit from low levels, as production headwinds eased. Lyriq EV sales more than doubled vs. Q2 to 3,018. Hummer EV sales rocketed to 1,167 from 47 in Q2.

GM also began initial sales of the Silverado electric truck.

Both GM and Ford are trying to ramp up EV production and sales after supply issues. In the second quarter, GM’s EV sales disappointed many investors.

Globally, automakers are shifting to electric vehicles, in the wake of Tesla’s success.

Shares of General Motors shed 2.9% Tuesday and a further 1.9% on the stock market today. GM stock hit a new 52-week low of 30.74 on Wednesday. It remains well below the 50-day moving average.

This week, GM and Ford boosted layoff in response to an expanded workers’ strike. According to a Bloomberg report Wednesday, General Motors said that the strike has already cost $200 million in the first two weeks, prompting the company to secure credit as it braces for more losses.

On Monday, Tesla (TSLA) reported disappointing global EV sales for the third quarter. EV startup Rivian (RIVN) reported better-than-expected Q3 deliveries.

Toyota Motor

Q3 sales estimate: 572,764 vehicles, up 8.9% vs. Q3 2022.

Results: Toyota sold 590,296 vehicles in Q3, up 12.2%.

A strong September finished the quarter. Toyota sold 203,904 vehicles for the month, a 13.9% increase from a year ago. “Electrified” vehicles made up nearly a third of the September total, Toyota said. The term includes battery electric vehicles, as well as fuel cell, hybrid and plug-in hybrid vehicles.

Toyota stock slid 3.1% Tuesday and a further 3% Wednesday, sliding below the 50-day moving average.

Ford Motor

Q3 sales estimate: 493,373 vehicles, up 6.9% vs. Q3 2022.

Results: Fold sold 500,504 vehicles, up 7.7% year over year. Year to date, Ford sales are up 9%.

In Q3, Ford truck sales grew 15% to 275,554 units. Ford SUV sales fell 0.3% to 194,723 units.

The automaker touted its “best ever sales” electric vehicles, including 20,962 battery-electric vehicles (BEVs) and 34,861 hybrid-electric vehicles.

Ford’s BEV sales jumped 15% year over year and were also up quarter over quarter. The gains were driven by the E-Transit van and the Mustang Mach-E SUV, for which Ford reported the highest sales since its debut in 2021. However, sales of the F-150 Lightning, the all-electric version of Ford’s top-selling truck, fell last quarter.

Sales of Ford hybrid-electric vehicles surged 41% year over year and were up slightly quarter over quarter. The new Maverick hybrid truck fueled gains, selling 23,931 units, an 83% increase year on year.

Ford stock shed 1.3% Wednesday, falling further below the 50-day line.

The auto giant said Tuesday it had made a new contract offer to resolve the UAW strike, but said a dispute over battery plants remains.

Stellantis

Q3 sales estimate: 384,371 vehicles, down 0.3% vs. Q3 2022.

Results: Stellantis sold 380,563 vehicles, down 1% from a year ago.

Shares of Stellantis stock gave up nearly 1% Wednesday.

Honda Motor

Q3 sales estimate: 331,608 vehicles, up 49.3% vs. Q3 2022.

Results: Honda sold 339,143 vehicles in Q3, up 52.7%. Like Toyota, Honda also signaled sales momentum heading into the close of 2023. Electric and hybrid-electric vehicles account for almost a quarter of its sales.

Honda stock gave up 3.5%, uncercutting the 50-day line.

U.S. Auto Sales Outlook

The annualized pace of September sales should reach 15.5 million, up from August’s 15 million rate, Cox Automotive analysts said. Citing strong Q3 sales momentum, the firm also raised its full-year forecast.

For 2023, Cox Auto now expects 15.3 million-15.4 million new vehicles to be sold in the U.S. market.

That is up from its forecast of 15 million at the end of June.

“Year-over-year sales gains have been surprising indeed,” said Cox analyst Charlie Chesbrough.

Consumers face high interest rates and ongoing inflation, which have put new cars out of reach for many.

However, pent-up demand has been fueling the vehicle market this year. Consumers and, especially, fleet customers are buying as the supply of new vehicles improves.

The UAW strike over a new labor contract has had little impact so far, analysts said. But a protracted strike could reverse gains the industry has made on inventory this year, they warned.

https://www.investors.com/news/auto-sales-q3-2023-gm-ford-gains/