In a bit of a departure from recent trends, U.S./Canadian sales of polyethylene and polypropylene resin through distributors and resellers both are on track to grow in 2015.
Last year — and in many recent years — PE and PP distribution sales grew while reselling sales declined. But through July 2015 — according to the American Chemistry Council — sales of high density, low density and linear low density PE, as well as PP, through reselling all are up vs. the same period in 2014.
By comparison, regional sales of HDPE, LDPE and PP via distribution are up for the period — even if the HDPE sales gain is just under 1 percent — while sales of LLDPE through that channel have taken a surprising slide.
Distributors posted seven-month gains of almost 39 percent in LDPE sales and of 14 percent in PP. The HDPE gain — as mentioned — was just under 1 percent, while the LLDPE drop was 14.5 percent, representing almost 80 million pounds.
Through July, the distribution/reselling total for all four materials in the U.S. and Canada was about 4.08 billion pounds, with reselling accounting for about 68 percent of the total. PP totals include Mexico.
In regional HDPE sales, resellers contributed 10.4 percent through July, with distributors at 6.5 percent. Resellers' share of seven-month LDPE sales was 10.3 percent, while distributors chipped in 8.6 percent.
For LLDPE sales in the region, resellers accounted for 10.4 percent through July, with distributors handling 6.9 percent. This balance was flipped in regional PP sales, with distributors at 10.4 percent and resellers at 7.9 percent.
In general, distributors sell branded types of resin where the producer of the material has its name connected to the product. Resellers typically sell generic grades of resin without brand names.