Chemical Distributors NAICS 4246

May 20, 2026 - EO Protects Glyphosate

• The Trump administration’s executive order designating glyphosate-based herbicides and elemental phosphorus as critical to national defense and US agriculture is a major win for Germany’s Bayer, the only company producing glyphosate in the US. By invoking the Defense Production Act, the EO prioritizes these inputs as critical to national security and food production, directing the USDA to secure supply and, if needed, control production and distribution. Also, the US Supreme Court has agreed to hear Bayer’s challenge to Roundup litigation, giving the company new hope in its effort to beat back tens of thousands of claims that its flagship weedkiller causes cancer. The most widely-used weedkiller in the world, US farmers apply roughly 300 million pounds of glyphosate, the key ingredient in Roundup, to fields each year, according to federal data. Farmer trade groups have supported Bayer’s effort seeking Supreme Court review of the Roundup litigation.
• The war in Iran is driving significant disruption and volatility across global chemical markets, tightening supplies for distributors, ChemAnalyst News reports. Supply chain interruptions, especially the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, are restricting shipments of critical feedstocks and finished chemicals, tightening global supply and pushing up prices. Prices for major chemicals have surged, including urea (+12–17%), ammonia (+5–11%), methanol (~+7%), and sulfur (~+6%), while natural gas costs have also risen sharply, increasing production expenses. Disruptions have led to plant outages, reduced operating rates, and force majeure declarations in petrochemical markets, particularly for products like styrene and polymers. For US manufacturers higher input and energy costs may pressure margins, but constrained global supply and buyers seeking alternative sources could support stronger pricing power and demand for domestic production. Overall, the conflict is increasing uncertainty, volatility, and cost pressures across the chemical value chain.

• The proposed merger of the Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern railroads has raised alarm among major industrial users, particularly chemical manufacturers, according to the American Chemistry Council. The ACC warns that combining these two rail giants could significantly reduce competition, raising freight costs and undermining service reliability across critical supply chains. Rail is a linchpin for many manufacturing operations, delivering raw materials to plants and finished goods to markets. With fewer railroads, manufacturers could be stuck with limited shipping options and higher rates, putting US production at a competitive disadvantage globally. The ACC is advocating for stricter regulatory review and calling for policy interventions to preserve rail-to-rail competition rather than enabling greater railroad consolidation. The proposed $85 billion deal was approved by the companies’ shareholders in November, but faces opposition from several states’ attorneys general.
• Producer prices for chemicals and allied products merchant wholesalers are soaring, jumping 27.3% to a record high in April compared to a year ago, after posting a comparatively small 5.8% gain in the previous April-versus-April annual comparison, according to the latest US Bureau of Labor Statistics data. Producer prices for chemical distributors are rising sharply because wholesalers are getting squeezed by higher upstream costs while also expanding their margins to cover volatility and supply risk. Meanwhile, sales for chemical distributors rose 7.1% year over year in February, Census Bureau data shows. Employment by chemical distributors rose 0.5% YoY in March, while the average industry wage fell 0.4% over the same period to $33.45 per hour, BLS data show.