Orion chief says long-term outlook bright despite ‘Covid complications’ 

Houston, Texas –  While the Covid-19 pandemic is expected to continue to impact businesses in the near term, the outlook remains bright for the carbon black industry, according to Orion Engineered Carbons president and chief executive Corning Painter.

The long-term drivers for pricing in the carbon black industry “is still with us,” said Painter during a recent third quarter earnings call.

“There's still increasing capacity of rubber [for] tire manufacturing in the United States… I mean the trend there is still with us,” he added.

In terms of pricing, Painter said that the tire market customers Orion is currently working with have “pretty different scenarios of what they think 2021 is going to look like.” 

“I think that reflects the overall uncertainty in the market. But it's an interesting negotiating dynamic going on right now,” he said “Covid-19 does complicate things this year, but we continue to discuss [pricing] with [interested] people.”