Abstract
In a few months, U.S. chemical producers will look back on 1982 with a mixture of relief that it is over and hope that it never happens again. Projected from what has happened so far, negative superlatives looming for 1982 include the industry's worst profit drop and lowest profit margin in recent decades. In a nutshell, C&EN's midyear survey of the 40 leading basic chemical companies projects a profit drop of at least 20% for the year on a sales drop of at least 3%. Profit margin on sales will be the lowest ever at less than 5%. For the second quarter, profits of these chemical companies fell 36% from a year ago as sales slipped 8%. The average second-quarter profit margin was 4.4%. These results are particularly bad, since the second quarter is traditionally the industry's strongest of the year. The industry has come to this pass because the current recession has lasted too ...
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