European chemicals output dipped in June 2014 for the second consecutive month, the European confederation of chemical industry associations Cefic said its trend report published on Sept. 3. Only consumer chemicals bucked the downtrend in June. Output from all other subsectors was lower than in the same month of 2013, the Brussels-based industry organization said. The May and June setbacks followed eight consecutive months of growth. For the year's first half, the balance shows output up 0.6% year-on-year, despite a decline of 1.2% in the second quarter.

Petrochemicals output has continued to slide during 2014, in the first half year falling 6.6% year-on-year against the 2013 period. Cefic said the decline was partially offset by 3.7% output growth for specialty chemicals and a 1.3% uptick for consumer chemicals. Polymer production grew by 1%, and basic inorganics edged up slightly by 0.4%.

Sales revenue remained stable in the year's first five months, despite lower selling prices (down 2% in the first half). The association noted that the numbers were only 1.4% above the pre-crisis full year peak in 2008.

The value of net exports of chemicals from the EU in the January-May period reached €18.6 billion, down €2.2 billion year-on-year, while the region's chemicals trade surplus continued pointing downward. 

For the EU chemicals sector, the trade balance with non-EU countries including Russia was positive, though lower than in last year's first five month, according to the trend report. The trade surplus with Asia, excluding China and Japan, grew slightly, while the surplus with China narrowed slightly. The US was able to shrink its trade deficit with the EU.

Cefic said confidence in the EU chemicals sector declined slightly in June as company overall order books continued to soften, but stayed above the long-term average. Output expectations for the months ahead point to significant improvement, yet the association said there appears to be no sign of improvement in export order books or employment expectation.

Second quarter 2014 capacity utilization in the EU chemicals sector was 80.6 %, down from 81.2% in the year's first quarter 2014.

"Slightly lower production levels and stagnant sales are not helping the EU chemicals sector recovery," said Cefic's director general Hubert Mandery. To bolster exports as a key growth driver, he called for "delivering trade agreements that reduce trade barriers such as the proposed Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) with the US.

"Trade agreements must improve industry access to affordable energy and feedstock," Mandery said, in an apparent reference to the US shale gas boom.