January 2025 saw price hikes for polyethylene, polypropylene, PET and polystyrene resins in North America, and buyers may be in for more increases in February.
In the latest Polymer Points Live session, Plastics News Senior Reporter Frank Esposito said that for February, additional price increases are anticipated, though at lower levels than January.
“January was a very active month. We saw higher prices for four of the five major quantity resins that we cover. The big surprise was polyethylene,” Esposito said.
“I thought polyethylene was going to be flat based on what we were seeing from supply, demand, feedstocks, etc, but the producers were able to get the increase through there,” he said. “We talked to some buyers, one said that the suppliers wanted to tighten up supply and get inventory back to normal, so they increased exports — and exports now are about half of the polyethylene market, so that can play a role like that. There was not much impact from the cold snap that hit the Gulf Coast in January, so it wasn't a supply issue.”
Esposito also revealed his expectations for higher prices in February for polypropylene, PET, polystyrene and PVC, as well as the impact of tariffs, sustainability trends and recycled resin demand and pricing.
The next Polymer Points Live is scheduled for Tuesday, March 18.