Polyolefin Prices Flare Up Again
In the first four months of the year, commodity resin prices took a breather from their relentless uphill march.
In the first four months of the year, commodity resin prices took a breather from their relentless uphill march. Then, last month, polyolefin prices caught a sudden updraft. Resin demand and monomer prices, both of which had been slumping for months, made a quick turnaround.
PE is high and tight
Polyethylene prices were on the way up last month as suppliers aimed to implement their May 1 increases, generally 6¢/lb for LL/LDPE and 3¢ for HDPE. A new price increase of 7¢/lb was issued by several major suppliers for June 1. This initiative follows a cumulative drop of 20¢/lb in PE resin prices since December.
The London Metal Exchange (LME) short-term futures contract for June in butene LLDPE for g-p blown film is 56.5¢/lb, up from May’s 53.8¢ and April’s 51¢/lb.
Contributing factors: Suppliers’ efforts to raise prices are encouraged by an uptick in demand resulting from a combination of a seasonal factors and inventory restocking by processors. “Demand was flat in the first quarter, but we expect demand in the second quarter to be up 2% to 3%,” said one major resin maker. “We anticipate overall demand in 2006 to show growth of 6% to 8%, with about half of that the result of downstream inventory replenishment, and the rest a solid increase,” says a major supplier.
Ethylene monomer contract prices, which had dropped 2¢/lb to 45.5¢/lb for April, were generally expected to move up 4¢ to 6¢ in May, following a rise in spot prices to 50¢/lb. “There is no major new capacity scheduled for either ethylene or polyethylene, so supply will only get tighter,” says one industry source. Moreover, Huntsman’s ethylene cracker in Port Arthur, Texas, which accounts for 2% of domestic ethylene supply, may not be back in operation for at least six months after a major fire there last month.
PP prices rising, too
Polypropylene prices were also on the way up last month, generally by 4¢/lb, as suppliers aimed to fully implement their May increases. A new 6¢ increase, effective June 1, appeared to have been led by Basell Polyolefins.
LME’s June short-term futures contract for g-p injection-grade homopolymer is 53.2¢/lb, up from May’s 50.1¢ and April’s 51¢/lb.
Contributing factors: In defense of its price hike, Basell cited continued escalation of energy, transportation, and feedstock costs, along with improved demand—factors that are confirmed by other suppliers and industry analysts. Says one supplier, “Demand was up about 2% in the first quarter over 2005, but we anticipate a 3% to 4% increase for the second quarter. We are also seeing more customers looking to stock up, generally with a month’s supply, in anticipation of this year’s hurricane season.”
Meanwhile, polymer-grade propylene monomer stood at 47¢/lb in April, with May contracts expected to settle at about 49¢. At press time last month, June monomer prices appeared to be headed upward by another 1¢ to 2¢/lb.
Nylon hike
Solutia announced a price increase of 7¢/lb on all its Ascend and Vydyne nylon 66 resins.
PUR prices & surcharges rise
Dow Polyurethanes issued a 5¢/lb increase for June 1 on TDI, MDI, and polyether and copolymer polyols. Meanwhile, BASF implemented a 2¢/lb fuel surcharge on all tank truck, tote, and drum shipments of its PUR systems for rigid and flexible foams and solid urethane applications as of May 15. BASF attributes its move to the need to offset the “severe impact” on both its inbound and outbound freight costs due to high diesel and gasoline prices.
On a positive note, Bayer MaterialScience claims to have developed new technology for making TDI that reduces the plant capital cost by 10% to 20% and cuts energy consumption by one-third. A 60-million-lb/yr pilot plant using the new technology has been running in Germany for over a year. Bayer plans to use the technology commercially for the first time at a 320-million-lb plant planned to be built in China by the end of 2009.
Styrene plant idled for lack of ethylene
Nova Chemicals decided last month to “temporarily idle” its Bayport, Texas, styrene monomer plant because of limited ethylene feedstock availability on the Gulf Coast. In particular, Huntsman Corp. declared force majeure on ethylene after an explosion at its olefins plant in Port Arthur, Texas, at the end of April.
Market Prices Effective Mid-May A |
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KEY: Colored areas indicate pricing activity. An arrow () indicates direction of price change. aTruckload, unless otherwise specified. bUnfilled, natural color, unless otherwise specified. cBased on typical or average density. dNot applicable. eNovolac and anhydride grades for coils, bushings, transformers. fNovolac and anhydride grades for resisitors, capacitors, diodes. gIn quantities of 20,000 lb. h19,800-lb load. jLME 30-day futures contract for lots of 54,564 lb.. |
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