Can you recommend petrochemical market publications for comparing downstream margins and product supply trends?

Yes — here are some of the more useful petrochemical market publications and data providers for comparing downstream margins and product supply / demand trends.

Good publications for downstream margins + supply trends

1) ICIS

• Strengths: Widely used for price assessments, netbacks, margins, and regional supply/demand analysis.
• Best for: Ethylene, propylene, polyethylene, polypropylene, aromatics, solvents, olefins, and many derivative chains.
• Why it’s useful: Strong day-to-day market coverage and margin tracking across major regions.
• Typical use: Benchmarking producer margins, comparing spot vs. contract dynamics, tracking outages and trade flows.

2) S&P Global Commodity Insights (formerly IHS Markit / PetroChem Wire in some areas)

• Strengths: Strong fundamentals, capacity outlook, operating rates, and integrated value-chain analysis.
• Best for: Medium- and long-term supply/demand trends, regional capacity additions, and margin outlooks.
• Why it’s useful: Good for comparing margin drivers across feedstocks and derivative chains.
• Typical use: Strategic planning, investment screening, and regional competitiveness analysis.

3) Argus

• Strengths: Excellent price reporting and market commentary, especially in energy-linked petrochemical chains.
• Best for: Aromatics, olefins, polymers, and feedstock-linked products.
• Why it’s useful: Good for understanding how upstream feedstock moves affect downstream margins.
• Typical use: Market benchmarking and arbitrage/supply trend analysis.

4) Wood Mackenzie

• Strengths: Strong global petrochemical supply, asset-level analysis, and long-term market forecasts.
• Best for: Capacity trends, trade flows, cost curves, and competitive positioning.
• Why it’s useful: Especially useful if you want to compare margins across regions and assess structural supply shifts.
• Typical use: Corporate strategy, capital allocation, and regional outlooks.

5) ChemOrbis

• Strengths: Very useful for polymer market pricing, trade flows, and regional supply sentiment.
• Best for: Polyethylene, polypropylene, PVC, PET, and related derivatives.
• Why it’s useful: Strong on import/export market conditions, especially in Asia, the Middle East, Europe, and Turkey.
• Typical use: Near-term supply trends and buyer/seller sentiment.

6) Platts / Platts Analytics

• Strengths: Well-known for price benchmarks and analytics tied to energy and petrochemical markets.
• Best for: Olefins, aromatics, polymers, and feedstock-based margin analysis.
• Why it’s useful: Good benchmark series if you need consistent historical comparisons.
• Typical use: Margin tracking and contract settlement references.

7) OPIS / Chemical Market Analytics

• Strengths: Good for pricing, market intelligence, and regional derivative analysis.
• Best for: Certain chemical chains, particularly in North America.
• Why it’s useful: Helpful for short-term supply and pricing visibility.

8) Tecnon OrbiChem

• Strengths: Strong global market intelligence on chemicals and derivatives.
• Best for: Capacity, trade, and demand assessments.
• Why it’s useful: Often used for deeper market studies and long-range trend analysis.

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If your main goal is margin comparison

Prioritize:

1. ICIS
2. S&P Global Commodity Insights
3. Argus
4. Platts

These are most helpful for building a spread / margin view across:

• feedstock to olefin
• olefin to polymer
• aromatics to derivatives
• regional arbitrage comparisons

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If your main goal is supply trend monitoring

Prioritize:

1. S&P Global Commodity Insights
2. Wood Mackenzie
3. ChemOrbis
4. ICIS

These tend to be better for:

• capacity additions
• plant outages
• operating rates
• import/export flows
• regional tightness/oversupply

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Practical tip

If you want to compare downstream margins properly, look for publications that provide:

• weekly spot prices
• regional netbacks
• feedstock indices
• capacity/utilization reports
• trade flow data
• producer cost curves
• margin calculators or chain economics

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Simple recommendation by use case

• Trading / short-term market view: ICIS, Argus, Platts
• Strategic / long-term supply-demand view: S&P Global Commodity Insights, Wood Mackenzie
• Polymer import/export and regional flows: ChemOrbis
• Broader chemical chain intelligence: Tecnon OrbiChem

If you want, I can also give you:

1. a ranked list by region (US, Europe, Asia, Middle East), or
2. a table comparing these publications by cost, coverage, and margin usefulness.