Texas, USA: After witnessing a downtrend in the past few months, the prices of Ethoxylated Tridecyl Alcohol have reversed their trajectory and increased in the US market in May. The demand from the downstream surfactant and detergent industries has been improving slower as the continued inflationary pressures were pressuring the market fundamentals of several specialty chemicals used in the surfactant and detergent industries, including Ethoxylated Tridecyl Alcohol.

In the first quarter, two major banks faced failure, and energy prices exhibited volatility, resulting in unfavorable market conditions for Ethoxylated Tridecyl Alcohol. The production activities of Ethoxylated Tridecyl Alcohol have been affected by persistent inflation pressures and aggressive monetary policies. According to industry sources, the manufacturing purchasing manager index experienced a slight downward revision to 48.4 in May, indicating a contraction. Nevertheless, manufacturers in the United States are actively seeking innovative approaches to enhance production efficiency, optimize logistics, and ensure a steady supply to meet market demand. As a result,  inflation moderated slightly in May, potentially allowing the US Federal Reserve to pause its aggressive interest rate hikes, easing the market sentiments of Ethoxylated Tridecyl Alcohol.

The Port of Seattle has been forced to shut down due to ongoing labor disputes on the west coast, as the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) has refused to dispatch workers to container terminals. The Pacific Maritime Association (PMA) has reported that the situation remains unresolved. As a result, The West Coast ports have faced continuous worker slowdowns and stoppages all this week, where an estimated $5.2 billion of trade is floating off the Ports of Los Angeles, Long Beach, and Oakland. The Ethoxylated Tridecyl Alcohol Market players were cautious as If these labor disputes continue to affect port efficiency, the number of backlogs will significantly increase.

In addition, the challenge of increased ocean trade being redirected to East Coast and Gulf Coast ports is made more complex due to the Panama Canal facing drought conditions. Even if this route is chosen, it could result in a significant increase of 12 to 18 days in travel time for cargo destined for the United States.

As per the pricing intelligence of ChemAnalyst, The prices of Ethoxylated Tridecyl Alcohol are expected to remain high by the end of the second quarter of 2023. The decrease in production due to economic difficulties has created challenges in ensuring an adequate supply of Ethoxylated Tridecyl Alcohol for domestic use, limiting its availability for downstream industries. Additionally, the cost of input energy sources such as Crude Oil may increase as OPEC+ countries are actively reducing their Crude Oil production levels, increasing the pressure on the price realizations of Ethoxylated Tridecyl Alcohol in the near term.