For Steve Strongosky, purchasing manager at the Sherwin-Williams Co. in Cleveland, the rise and fall of petroleum prices means much more than worrying about the cost of commuting to work. Like many other purchasing professionals in the petrochemicals supply chain, the energy market's gyrations can induce gut-wrenching choices for Strongosky. And the growing influence of alternative energy markets isn't lessening his concerns. In fact, the growing range of regulations, environmental trends, and specific Green initiatives, have brought more uncertainty into the supply equation for a range of chemicals, most of which are petroleum derivatives.
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