Europe’s chemical distributors’ margins are under pressure as geopolitics roils the global economy, but they are also flexing to new business models for future growth.
- Cost inflation impacting margins for distributors – logistics, energy, labor, working capital
- Tougher to pass price increases to customers
- Intense competition from cheap imports into Europe
- Economic uncertainty affecting customer confidence
- New business models needed as the old global world order changes
- Distributors, being less asset-heavy, are well placed to adapt to changing trade flows and tariffs
- Unstable tariff regimes are bad for demand due to the uncertainty they create
- Tariffs can cause a whiplash as flows redirected to other regions
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