Price Reports September 2016

The following information is provided by Plastics Information Europe.  For more than 34 years, PIE has been an invaluable source of information for European plastics industry decision makers - a quick, yet in-depth look at the development of plastics markets and polymer prices. Available online 24/7 and as a printed newsletter twice a month. To read entire versions of the following reports, go to www.pieweb.com and sign up for a 48-hour free trial!

Articles:  September 2016

Standards Thermoplastics Engineering Thermoplastics Polyurethane Feedstocks GRP/Composites

 

  Standard Thermoplastics September 2016: PE starts to crumble but most notations still hold stable/ Higher costs drive up PP/ PVC stagnant / PS follows SM down / Polyolefins rising/ All other grades under pressure

PE: Producers’ plans to hike prices in September failed, as their premature calls were quickly undermined by the rollover in the C2 reference price. Apart from that, the fact that some buyers already began topping up their stocks in July meant most of them still had sufficient material in inventory. In the final tally, most transactions ended up in a rollover, with the occasional slight reduction. In October, most producers are planning to pass on at least the nominal EUR 15/t rise in the ethylene contract. However, considering the long market situation, it is highly questionable whether they will succeed.

PP: It initially looked as though September would be a tough month for European PP buyers, but the widely feared bottlenecks increasingly turned out to be more of an individual nature rather than an across-the-board phenomenon. The month concluded with rises that tended to fall short of the actual cost increase. The only exception was copolymer injection moulding grades, where the full cost rise was passed on. Compounds notations quickly reflected the price movements among the standard products. Due to higher additives prices, moderate increases dominated the picture here. Following the EUR 35/t rise in October's C3 contract, producers’ stance will likely toughen. Buyers should brace themselves for price increases, although the hikes will likely be just slightly higher than the actual cost rise.

PVC: S-PVC base material producers’ efforts to hike prices were doomed from the get-go. Contrary to their expectations, demand remained rather weak. Having stocked up in the preceding months, a large number of processors were able to meet demand from the construction segment from their existing inventories. It was much the same where E-PVC was concerned. In some instances, notations for ready-to-use blends reflected the rise in additive costs. Rigid PVC blends prices, for instance, were driven up by the increases for titanium dioxide and modifiers. Plasticisers also pointed up, although the gains were not strong enough to elicit any movement on the soft blends front so far. That could change in October, following the rise in C3 and the upward trend for TiO₂.

Styrenics: Styrenics prices were caught in a weak rollover. Following the EUR 20/t decline in the monthly SM contract, both PS and EPS suppliers brought some of their price peaks back to par, while lower-lying notations were mostly left untouched. ABS also rolled over. As expected, demand picked up once the holidays ended, but the boom in orders from the construction sector failed to materialise. In the wake of the EUR 50/t decline in October’s SM contract, both PS and EPS notations will likely erode further. The downward potential for ABS, meanwhile, is dampened by the rise in butadiene costs (up EUR 40/t) as well as the widely expected increase for ACN.

PET: PET prices remained under pressure. Although demand picked up as temperatures reached unusual highs, the resultant rise in orders was unable to offset the generally oversupplied market. In the end, notations eroded along the entire PET chain – from feedstock to virgin polymer to recyclate. The current situation is unlikely to change much in October, with costs trending either stable or down, and demand expected to decline.

For more than 34 years, PIE has been an invaluable source of information for European plastics industry decision makers - a quick, yet in-depth look at the development of plastics markets and polymer prices. Available online 24/7 and as a printed newsletter twice a month. To read the entire report, go to www.pieweb.com and sign up for a 48-hour free trial!

 

 

  Engineering Thermoplastics September 2016: Problems with PC and PA 6 give way to stability / PA 6.6 and POM point down / PBT mostly calm / PMMA under upward pressure / October likely to be a mixed bag

The erosion tendency continued to hold the European market for engineering thermoplastics in its grasp in September, even if the trends differed. While notations for PA 6 and PC, which had recently been crumbling, stabilised, the downtrend now took PA 6.6 and POM for an unexpected ride. The original Nylon had to pay tribute to the earlier declines of its PA 6 relative, even though its feedstock situation is completely different. Instead, the pressure emanates from the market itself, where the two materials are frequently in competition with each other. As for POM, it was once again the unpredictability of a leading supplier that resulted in unexpected price cuts. It appears that the clearance sales in July, when POM notations were already pointing down, resulted in lower demand in August. With their inventories stocked to the brim, producers had no choice but to unload surplus quantities onto the market. The decline in notations was the logical consequence.

It was mostly calm on the price front for the other engineering thermoplastics. ABS held stable (see PIEWeb of 06.10.2016), while PP compounds notations rose slightly in response to the increase in C3 (see PIEWeb of 06.10.2016).

At first sight, it looks as though October might end up bringing some calm. However, there are nevertheless a number of diverging tendencies, including in the case of PMMA, which is just as likely as PP compounds to see additional rises. POM, by contrast, remains on shaky grounds, and all producers’ claims to the contrary, polyamide notations do not appear to be particularly stable either.

For more than 34 years, PIE has been an invaluable source of information for European plastics industry decision makers - a quick, yet in-depth look at the development of plastics markets and polymer prices. Available online 24/7 and as a printed newsletter twice a month. To read the entire report, go to www.pieweb.com and sign up for a 48-hour free trial!

 

 

 

   Composites/GRP September 2016: Sinking styrene pushes resins downward / More declines likely in October / Glass fibre products unchanged / Market appears largely in balance

Pulled downward by October’s styrene contract, notations for the medium-reactive ortho resins covered in this report gave way by an average EUR 15/t. The declines were distributed relatively evenly across the PIE price range. The four glass fibre products covered, including the new category – assembled roving for SMCs – showed no movement at all.

The further slip in styrene notations could well push resins further downward in October. The monthly feedstock contract gave way again, this time by EUR 50/t. Spot styrene prices have been pointing downward for five weeks, most recently settling out at EUR 824/t. Although notations for propylene, the feedstock for monopropylene glycol, rose by EUR 35/t, prices for the other starting materials, phthalic acid anhydride and maleic acid anhydride, remained largely unchanged. The starting materials price mix is thus balanced to slightly negative. The approaching autumn school holidays in some countries are unlikely to have a major impact on demand, as a result of which order activity is also unlikely to provide any additional stimulus.

Price rounds for the fourth quarter were still in progress at press time and thus had no impact on European glass fibre products. The most likely price scenario is a widespread rollover, with notations likely to remain stable for the rest of the year – not least since most buyers are bound to long-term supply contracts.

For more than 34 years, PIE has been an invaluable source of information for European plastics industry decision makers - a quick, yet in-depth look at the development of plastics markets and polymer prices. Available online 24/7 and as a printed newsletter twice a month. To read the entire report, go to www.pieweb.com and sign up for a 48-hour free trial!