Prices on the rise for PP, nylon and recycled PET

North American polypropylene resin prices ticked up another penny per pound in November, while regional prices for nylon 6 and 6/6 resins and some recycled grades of PET bottle resin have increased in recent months as well.

The 1-cent PP hike marked the second straight month that market prices had moved up by that amount. Prices had jumped 7 cents per pound in September as the market reacted to temporary shortages caused by Hurricane Harvey.

North American PP sales grew just over 1 percent in the first 10 months of 2017, according to the American Chemistry Council. Domestic sales grew 2.5 percent in that period, but were softened by a 32.5 percent plunge in exports.

Domestic sales of PP into injection molded housewares surged almost 5 percent for that 10-month stretch. PP sales into sheet jumped almost 9 percent.

Higher feedstock costs and strong demand from the automotive market sent nylon 6 prices up an average of 6 cents per pound and nylon 6/6 prices up an average of 8 cents per pound since Sept. 1, according to market sources contacted by Plastics News.

North American nylon 6 and 6/6 prices already had surged a total of 18 cents this year.

For recycled PET, a 3-cent increase for clear pellets was fueled, in part, by higher demand and concerns surrounding an anti-dumping petition filed against U.S. PET imports, according to the PetroChemWire LLC consulting firm in Houston.

Strong demand partially has resulted from end users meeting end-of-year production quotas for bottles and packaging with recycled content, the report added.