The Urethane Blog
August 26, 2020
U.S. durable-goods orders leap 11.2% in July on strong demand for cars and trucks
Published: Aug. 26, 2020 at 9:47 a.m. ET By
Jeffry Bartash
Demand for autos surge during summer as low interest rates attract buyers
- The numbers: Orders for durable goods lasting at least three years surged 11.2% in July largely because of strong consumer demand for new cars and trucks, but business spending outside the auto industry was softer and investment grew more slowly.
The increase in orders last month — the third in a row — easily topped the 4.8% forecast of economists surveyed by MarketWatch.
Yet demand for industrial goods was less robust if autos and airplanes are excluded. New orders rose a smaller 2.4% minus transportation, the government said Wednesday.
Big ups and downs in transportation often distort the underlying pace of demand. New industrial orders still remain about 6% below the precrisis peak.
What happened: Orders for new cars and trucks jumped 22% last month after a nearly 24% gain in June.
Auto sales have been surprisingly strong during the summer as Americans took advantage of low interest rates and discounted pricing. Bookings in July were actually higher last month compared to July 2019.
Auto orders are likely to moderate soon now that plants have reopened and auto manufacturers are operating closer to normal capacity. Sales to corporate customers are still depressed and demand usually wanes in the fall.
Airline orders only declined half as much in July as they did in June, the government said, reflecting fewer cancellations. That also contributed to the better than expected increase in industrial orders last month.
Boeing BA, -1.41% has suffered hundreds of cancellations and received very few orders for new planes this year after travel around the world plunged during the coronavirus crisis. The company had already been under severe financial strain after the grounding of its 737 Max plane following a pair of deadly crashes last year.
The future isn’t looking much better. American Airlines on Tuesday said it would lay off or furlough 19,000 workers because so few people are flying.
Orders for most other industrial goods rose, but more slowly. Bookings increased 4% for electrical equipment including appliances, 2% for fabricated-metal parts, 2% for machinery and 2% for computers and electronics.
A key measure of business investment, known as core orders, edged up 1.9% last month and has returned close to pre-crisis levels. These orders exclude defense and transportation.
Business investment was already weak before the pandemic, however, and is unlikely to regain its full strength until the virus is brought under control at home and abroad. The disease has wreaked havoc on the global trading system and forced businesses to preserve cash in case the economy worsens.
The big picture: The good news is that key parts of the economy have returned close to pre-crisis trends. Auto and most other American manufacturers have rebounded smartly from the pandemic and fared better than the much larger service side of the economy.
Yet manufacturers can’t grow significantly faster until the U.S. and rest of the world contain the virus and start to return to normal. It could take a year or more before that’s the case.
What they are saying? “U.S. durable goods orders made more progress toward recovering in July despite the resurgence in the virus,” said economist Katherine Judge of CIBC Economis, but “we continue to see the recovery in business investment from here as occurring relatively slowly given the prevalence of spare capacity.”
August 26, 2020
U.S. durable-goods orders leap 11.2% in July on strong demand for cars and trucks
Published: Aug. 26, 2020 at 9:47 a.m. ET By
Jeffry Bartash
Demand for autos surge during summer as low interest rates attract buyers
- The numbers: Orders for durable goods lasting at least three years surged 11.2% in July largely because of strong consumer demand for new cars and trucks, but business spending outside the auto industry was softer and investment grew more slowly.
The increase in orders last month — the third in a row — easily topped the 4.8% forecast of economists surveyed by MarketWatch.
Yet demand for industrial goods was less robust if autos and airplanes are excluded. New orders rose a smaller 2.4% minus transportation, the government said Wednesday.
Big ups and downs in transportation often distort the underlying pace of demand. New industrial orders still remain about 6% below the precrisis peak.
What happened: Orders for new cars and trucks jumped 22% last month after a nearly 24% gain in June.
Auto sales have been surprisingly strong during the summer as Americans took advantage of low interest rates and discounted pricing. Bookings in July were actually higher last month compared to July 2019.
Auto orders are likely to moderate soon now that plants have reopened and auto manufacturers are operating closer to normal capacity. Sales to corporate customers are still depressed and demand usually wanes in the fall.
Airline orders only declined half as much in July as they did in June, the government said, reflecting fewer cancellations. That also contributed to the better than expected increase in industrial orders last month.
Boeing BA, -1.41% has suffered hundreds of cancellations and received very few orders for new planes this year after travel around the world plunged during the coronavirus crisis. The company had already been under severe financial strain after the grounding of its 737 Max plane following a pair of deadly crashes last year.
The future isn’t looking much better. American Airlines on Tuesday said it would lay off or furlough 19,000 workers because so few people are flying.
Orders for most other industrial goods rose, but more slowly. Bookings increased 4% for electrical equipment including appliances, 2% for fabricated-metal parts, 2% for machinery and 2% for computers and electronics.
A key measure of business investment, known as core orders, edged up 1.9% last month and has returned close to pre-crisis levels. These orders exclude defense and transportation.
Business investment was already weak before the pandemic, however, and is unlikely to regain its full strength until the virus is brought under control at home and abroad. The disease has wreaked havoc on the global trading system and forced businesses to preserve cash in case the economy worsens.
The big picture: The good news is that key parts of the economy have returned close to pre-crisis trends. Auto and most other American manufacturers have rebounded smartly from the pandemic and fared better than the much larger service side of the economy.
Yet manufacturers can’t grow significantly faster until the U.S. and rest of the world contain the virus and start to return to normal. It could take a year or more before that’s the case.
What they are saying? “U.S. durable goods orders made more progress toward recovering in July despite the resurgence in the virus,” said economist Katherine Judge of CIBC Economis, but “we continue to see the recovery in business investment from here as occurring relatively slowly given the prevalence of spare capacity.”
August 26, 2020
Casper Appoints Michael Monahan as Chief Financial Officer
Wed August 26, 2020 6:30 AM|Business Wire|About: CSPR
NEW YORK–(BUSINESS WIRE)– Casper Sleep Inc. (CSPR) (“Casper”) (NYSE: CSPR), the award-winning sleep company, today announced that its Board of Directors has appointed Michael Monahan as Chief Financial Officer, effective August 31, 2020. Casper also announced that its Interim Chief Financial Officer Stuart Brown has resigned, effective August 31, 2020, but will continue to support the Company as a consultant during the transition period.
Michael joins Casper with more than 20 years of financial and operational leadership experience for both public and privately held companies. Most recently, Michael served as CFO of HEXO Corp., and prior to that he was CFO of Nutrisystem, Inc. (NTRI) During his tenure at Nutrisystem, Michael oversaw the growth of the company’s market capitalization from approximately $250 million to $1.3 billion before the company’s sale to Tivity Health, Inc., a publicly-traded provider of health improvement programs. Michael also previously served as CFO of PetroChoice Holdings, Inc. during a period of significant organic and acquisitive growth that resulted in the successful sale of the company to private equity investors.
Philip Krim, co-founder and Chief Executive Officer at Casper, commented, “Michael will be an invaluable asset to our leadership team as Casper continues to grow and advance towards profitability. His proven track record of driving financial and operational success for a number of companies gives us even more confidence in our trajectory ahead.”
“As people are investing in sleep more than ever, the opportunities for Casper are tremendous with a significant runway for growth,” said Michael Monahan. “I look forward to partnering with Philip and the leadership team to execute on the company’s strategic goals, drive profitable growth, and deliver value to shareholders.”
“I’d like to thank Stuart for his service as Interim CFO, where he played an important role in guiding Casper’s shift into the public markets. Furthermore, we appreciate that Stuart has agreed to work with Michael to ensure a seamless transition,” said Philip Krim.
About Casper
Casper believes everyone should sleep better. The Sleep Company has a full portfolio of obsessively engineered sleep products—including mattresses, pillows, bedding, and furniture—designed in-house by the Company’s award-winning R&D team at Casper Labs in San Francisco. In addition to its e-commerce business, Casper owns and operates Sleep Shops across North America and its products are available at a growing list of retailers.
https://seekingalpha.com/pr/17983982-casper-appoints-michael-monahan-chief-financial-officer
August 26, 2020
Casper Appoints Michael Monahan as Chief Financial Officer
Wed August 26, 2020 6:30 AM|Business Wire|About: CSPR
NEW YORK–(BUSINESS WIRE)– Casper Sleep Inc. (CSPR) (“Casper”) (NYSE: CSPR), the award-winning sleep company, today announced that its Board of Directors has appointed Michael Monahan as Chief Financial Officer, effective August 31, 2020. Casper also announced that its Interim Chief Financial Officer Stuart Brown has resigned, effective August 31, 2020, but will continue to support the Company as a consultant during the transition period.
Michael joins Casper with more than 20 years of financial and operational leadership experience for both public and privately held companies. Most recently, Michael served as CFO of HEXO Corp., and prior to that he was CFO of Nutrisystem, Inc. (NTRI) During his tenure at Nutrisystem, Michael oversaw the growth of the company’s market capitalization from approximately $250 million to $1.3 billion before the company’s sale to Tivity Health, Inc., a publicly-traded provider of health improvement programs. Michael also previously served as CFO of PetroChoice Holdings, Inc. during a period of significant organic and acquisitive growth that resulted in the successful sale of the company to private equity investors.
Philip Krim, co-founder and Chief Executive Officer at Casper, commented, “Michael will be an invaluable asset to our leadership team as Casper continues to grow and advance towards profitability. His proven track record of driving financial and operational success for a number of companies gives us even more confidence in our trajectory ahead.”
“As people are investing in sleep more than ever, the opportunities for Casper are tremendous with a significant runway for growth,” said Michael Monahan. “I look forward to partnering with Philip and the leadership team to execute on the company’s strategic goals, drive profitable growth, and deliver value to shareholders.”
“I’d like to thank Stuart for his service as Interim CFO, where he played an important role in guiding Casper’s shift into the public markets. Furthermore, we appreciate that Stuart has agreed to work with Michael to ensure a seamless transition,” said Philip Krim.
About Casper
Casper believes everyone should sleep better. The Sleep Company has a full portfolio of obsessively engineered sleep products—including mattresses, pillows, bedding, and furniture—designed in-house by the Company’s award-winning R&D team at Casper Labs in San Francisco. In addition to its e-commerce business, Casper owns and operates Sleep Shops across North America and its products are available at a growing list of retailers.
https://seekingalpha.com/pr/17983982-casper-appoints-michael-monahan-chief-financial-officer
August 25, 2020
USGC refiners, petchems shut down as Laura approaches
17:02 PM | August 25, 2020 | Clay Boswell
US Gulf Coast refiners and petrochemical producers are battening down the hatches in preparation for Hurricane Laura, which is forecast to make landfall near the Texas-Louisiana border Wednesday night or Thursday (map).
The National Hurricane Center has declared a hurricane watch for the stretch of coast extending from San Luis Pass, Texas, just south of Houston, to Intracoastal City, Louisiana, east of Lake Charles, a region that includes almost 70% of US olefins production capacity.
Several chemical producers are shutting down in advance of the hurricane, according to air emission event reports submitted to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ). CPChem intends to shut down its Pasadena plastics complex, where the company has about 1 million metric tons/year (MMt/y) of polyethylene capacity. Motiva Chemicals is shutting down its steam cracker at Port Arthur, which has 0.7 MMt/y of ethylene capacity and 0.2 MMt/y of polymer-grade propylene (PGP) capacity. INEOS is shutting down its Olefins 1 steam cracker at Chocolate Bayou, which has 0.9 MMt/y of ethylene capacity and 0.3 MMt/y of PGP capacity.
Port Arthur-Beaumont, Texas, has more than 1.6 million b/d of refining capacity. OPIS reported on Monday that Motiva has filed a shutdown report with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality for its 607,000-b/d refinery as well as its chemical plant. Total’s 225,000-b/d Port Arthur facility was reportedly reducing runs to minimum levels.
ExxonMobil said it was preparing for severe weather at its 384,400-b/d Beaumont refinery, but as of late Monday afternoon the company said operations were normal. Market sources say Valero’s 415,000-b/d Port Arthur refinery is also shutting down, but the company has not yet offered confirmation. Calcasieu has idled its 137,000-b/d refinery.
Tuesday the Port of Houston said it expects to be fully closed Wednesday and possibly Thursday, depending on the storm track.
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