S&P Global — 17 September 2024
Daily Update: September 17, 2024
Self-driving Cars Regain Momentum After Setbacks
By Nathan Hunt
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There’s something disconcerting about riding in a taxi without a driver. But residents of Phoenix and some Californian cities have begun to adjust to the empty driver’s seat. Despite the delays wrought by the COVID-19 pandemic and some high-profile issues, self-driving cars are regaining momentum.
The automobile industry has coalesced around six levels when it comes to autonomous vehicles. At the low end of the scale, Level 0 and Level 1 are used for functions such as cruise control or lane-departure correction that assist the driver with alerts or specific emergency interventions. Level 2 allows a vehicle to drive successfully within lanes, provided the driver keeps their hands on the wheel. Level 3 allows for autonomous driving with a driver present. Level 4 describes a vehicle capable of driving itself without a driver present, with some limitations of geolocation or weather. Level 5 is the highest mark of autonomy, where vehicles are capable of operating without a driver in all conditions in which a human can drive.
Of all the companies pursuing the dream of fully autonomous driving, Waymo is the front-runner. Waymo operates large taxi fleets in California and Phoenix, and its US paid robotaxi rides reached 100,000 per week this August. The company’s parent, Alphabet, has committed to investing an additional $5 billion. Waymo has greatly improved its sensor technology, with a sensor suite capable of providing overlapping fields of view all around the vehicle, up to 500 meters away, during day and night and in a range of weather conditions.
GM’s Cruise is among the companies that have experienced frustrating setbacks in 2023. After a Cruise vehicle was involved as a secondary vehicle in a pedestrian accident, GM halted operations, launched an independent investigation and replaced the Cruise leadership team. However, the setback seems to have provided the company with an opportunity to refocus. GM has committed to providing additional funding, and the company has expanded operations to Phoenix, Dallas and Houston.
Tesla has also been pursuing Level 5 autonomy for years. While the company continues to brand its automated driving assist system as supervised full self-driving, it appears to be operating just above Level 2. The reveal of the new Tesla robotaxi, originally scheduled for August, was delayed until October.
According to S&P Global Mobility’s Autonomy Forecasts, sales of autonomous light vehicles in the US are forecast to reach about 230,000 autonomous mobility-as-a-service units by 2034. However, as often happens in mobility, China looks to have a substantial lead. By 2034, China is expected to have sold 1.5 million autonomous vehicles, representing 5% of light vehicles sold in the country.
Today is Tuesday, September 17, 2024, and here is today’s essential intelligence.
Listen: What To Watch As Hydrogen Moves Into Execution Phase
On this week's episode of Energy Evolution, S&P Global Commodity Insights hydrogen specialists Shankari Srinivasan and Catherine Robinson discuss their research on the current state of the hydrogen industry. While the mood has been dampened by project cancelations, the industry is now moving from planning to delivery, Srinivasan tells podcast correspondent Camilla Naschert. Blue hydrogen, made using gas and carbon capture, will play a major role, especially in Asia and the US, leveraging lower cost differentials and existing infrastructure, Robinson says.
—Listen and subscribe to the podcast from S&P Global Commodity Insights
Monthly PMI Bulletin: September 2024
The global economic expansion picked up pace in August but the upturn became entirely services-driven as manufacturing output edged into decline. Meanwhile price pressures eased on the back of falling cost inflation, boding well for the lowering of global interest rates in the coming months. The J.P.Morgan Global PMI Composite Output Index — produced by S&P Global — registered 52.8 in September, up from 52.5 in August. The latest reading marked a first acceleration in growth rate in three months and is broadly indicative of the global economy growing at an annualized rate of 2.9% in August. This compares with an average growth rate of 3.1% in the decade prior to the pandemic.
—Read the article from S&P Global Market Intelligence
Total Debt Retreats From Record High For Rated US Companies
The total debt for nonfinancial US companies rated investment-grade by S&P Global Ratings retreated from a record high set in the first quarter. The combined debt among investment-grade and non-investment-grade companies dropped to $8.432 trillion in the second quarter, from $8.517 trillion a quarter earlier. Investment-grade companies trimmed debt by about 0.9% to $6.610 trillion, while companies rated below BBB- by S&P Global Ratings cut debt by about 1.2% to $1.822 trillion, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence data.
—Read the article from S&P Global Market Intelligence
Halloween Supply Chain Activity Booms
Halloween supply chain activity in the US reached a record high in 2024. Imports of related products rose by 18.6% year over year to 33,098 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) of container freight. US consumer spending during the "back to school" season, which covers July through September and includes Halloween-related spending, is forecast to improve by 3.6% year over year in 2024.
—Read the article from S&P Global Market Intelligence
Political Risks Loom Amid Senegalese Oil Ramp-Up
Crude exports from Senegal's maiden project have ramped up to 100,000 b/d just three months after startup, shipping data shows, even as its new government presses ahead with contentious plans to review hydrocarbon contracts. Australia's Woodside Energy brought its Sangomar oil development online in June, making the West African nation a crude producer for the first time.
—Read the article from S&P Global Commodity Insights
Global Survey Examines Industrial, Enterprise And Consumer Metaverse Adoption
In the annual S&P Global Market Intelligence survey on metaverse attitudes, adoption and use cases, this year's respondents were asked about the relationship between generative AI and their metaverse programs. Since metaverse applications differ across sectors, the survey looks at the three main areas of adoption: industrial, enterprise (business-to-business) and consumer (business-to-consumer).
—Read the article from S&P Global Market Intelligence
Webinar: Beyond ESG with Seizing the Transition Opportunity at Climate Week (Sept. 18, 2024)
As we look ahead to Climate Week NYC at the end of September, S&P Global Sustainable1’s next Beyond ESG webinar will explore the unprecedented market opportunities and equally unprecedented and complex risk scenarios as we transition to a net-zero, sustainable future.
—Register for the webinar from S&P Global Sustainable1