Brother, can you spare some resin?

If resin distributors had theme songs, their selection for 2021 might be the Rolling Stones hit "You Can't Always Get What You Want."

That's been the case for availability of resin as well as for challenges in logistics, labor, packaging, shipping, rail and trucking since early 2020. The challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic were followed by hurricanes in the second half of 2020 and an unexpected ice storm that hit Texas in February.

(A backup song selection might be the Joe Jackson hit "You Can't Get What You Want (Till You Know What You Want)." But that might not apply, since distributors already know what they want.)

These tight supply conditions have been accompanied by surging demand from many plastics end markets as global economies recovered. The major supply/demand imbalance has made life challenging for resin distributors, who could sell more resin if they could only get more resin.

Plastics News recently checked in with executives at several resin distribution firms to see how they were handling the challenges of 2021. Here's what they had to say:

The tight supply/demand balance of 2021 is more extreme than many resin distributors have ever seen.

"There's a mind-blowing amount of shortages and demand happening right now," said Michael Bernich, president of Jamplast Inc. in Ellisville, Mo. "We've been able to maintain good relations with producers and suppliers, but it's been a challenge."

Many resin suppliers remain operating under force majeure supply limits or some form of sales allocation, causing distributors to make similar with their own customers, he added.

Marc Fern, executive vice president with M. Holland Co. in Northbrook, Ill., said that resin supplies haven't seen much improvement and that suppliers "are still trying to catch up with demand."

"We're far from getting everything we want when we need it," he added. "There's also been a shift in demand going from areas like home improvement and exercise equipment, when everyone was home because of the pandemic, to hospitality and entertainment.

"So now you're seeing things like stadiums being short on polypropylene cups. Do people have enough disposable income to keep spending in both of those areas?"

M. Holland President and CEO Ed Holland said that the polyethylene market "needs 90 days of interrupted production to gain some ground … but if we have a strong hurricane season, all bets are off."

He added that his firm's accounts "are spending enormous amounts of time managing price. … It's a lot of work."

The distribution unit of Avient Corp. in Avon Lake, Ohio, has seen strong financial results in 2021. The unit's second-quarter sales were up almost 70 percent vs. the same quarter in 2020 to $404.4 million, with operating profit up more than 64 percent to $23.7 million.

Avient Distribution President Cathy Dodd said the firm "is seeing some leveling out" on supply/demand balance, but demand remains very strong in health care markets like elective surgery and in consumer discretionary items like outdoor products and sporting goods. The transportation market also "is trying to come back," she added.

Mass Polymers Corp. of Bridgewater, N.J., has seen record sales in the last 18 months, according to Vice President of Commodity Resins Joe Mysza. "We've been doing this for a long time, so when the market started to get tight, we bought everything we could buy so we'd be able to support our customers," he said.

Vinmar Polymers America, a unit of Vinmar International of Houston, also is managing tight supplies, President Kirt Dmytruk said. Recently, Vinmar delivered a resin shipment on a Wednesday instead of two days earlier as the customer had requested. "It might not have been available by Wednesday," he said.

Vinmar CEO Vishal Goradia said that Winter Storm Uri was "the largest industrial disruption in U.S. manufacturing history." In spite of that outage, he added that Vinmar has been able to become "the fastest-growing distributor in the U.S. and Canada."

"Because of our strong balance sheet, we've been able to continue to buy what we need," Goradia said. "We had the capital on hand."

At Osterman & Co. in Cheshire, Conn., the firm "is working to manage inventory to best serve our customers," according to Distribution Sales Vice President Dave Dever.

"I've never seen the market this tight," he said. "Freight costs are up five times, and there are driver shortages and delays in packaging. But our 3,000 customers are doing well. They're expanding and adding equipment."

Kevin Chase, president of Chase Plastic Services Inc. in Clarkston, Mich., said that resin supplies are improving slightly, but that "when one resin becomes available, another might be short."

"The key is effective communications with your customers and suppliers," he said. "We need to be as accurate as we can be so they can load their plants efficiently."

At PolySource Inc. in Independence, Mo., CEO Grant John used a Hollywood reference to describe 2021. "I feel like Bill Murray in Groundhog Day — it's the same thing over and over," he said. "We're still seeing strong demand and high prices."

John added that his firm "has to put more effort into every order, because prices and volume could change."

Resin supplies are improving slightly for Nexeo Plastics in The Woodlands, Texas, according to Paul Tayler, CEO of parent firm GPD Companies Inc. "There's a light at the end of the tunnel," he said.

Tayler added that the role of the distributor "is more important now than ever — we're right in middle of the mix and we need to get material to our customers." On resin demand, Tayler said that the question is "What's the new normal?"

"We're not going back to the way things were before," he added. "The supply chain hasn't been refilled yet, and we're carrying a lower level of inventory than usual."

At California Plastics in Downey, Calif., co-founder Abby Khanna said that although supplies of materials such as polycarbonate have improved, he sometimes feels like he's "preventing customers from walking off the ledge."

"There are still some problems with freight and overseas shipping," he added.

Conventus Polymers of Parsippany, N.J., has seen "marginal improvement" in supply, but President John Jorgensen said he doesn't expect the situation to get much better in 2021. "I think it will push into next year," he added. "We're six-plus months away.

"It's not uncommon to have one or two polymer families tight, but to see it across the board is unprecedented," Jorgensen said. "Some shipments are smooth, but then some will be delayed for a month or more with no rhyme or reason."

MGI International LLC of Melville, N.Y., has seen strong demand in 2021 from consumer goods, building/construction and automotive, according to CEO Marco Liuzzo. "As a global company … we have relied heavily on foreign sourcing and imports to keep our customers supplied in this challenging market in all product categories, including ETP, PP, PE, PET and recycled PET," he said.

MGI also has expanded its tech service to assist customers with approving alternative materials, as customary suppliers struggle through force majeure and other production issues.

Major increases in resin pricing also have presented big challenges for resin distributors in 2021, with prices for many commodity and engineering resins up 50 percent or more. In most cases, distributors have been able to pass these increases through to their customers, but negotiations haven't been easy.

"[Higher prices] have been the dominant theme, but the bigger concern for our customers has been simply being able to get supply at any price to fill their orders," said Liuzzo at MGI. Prices for the rest of 2021 "might be down a bit, but I don't see them collapsing," Holland added.

Pricing remains a challenge at General Polymers Thermoplastic Materials, which moved into a larger location in Rochester Hills, Mich., earlier this year. "Customers are saying they need someone to fight for them, but if we don't take the increases, we can't get material," President Greg Boston said. "The increases are sustained and across every chemistry."

Jorgensen at Conventus said that PC "has seen some of the highest inflation" among resins, but that most materials are seeing the same conditions. "It's one of the challenges we're facing, but it's reality," he added. "Buyers need to qualify other materials. It's a strong reminder of the importance of having secondary source."

At M. Holland, Fern said that the firm "is just happy that we can get material to people on time — that's the most important variable." PolySource's John said that continued high prices "take a toll on the entire company — prices go up, lead times go out or quantities aren't what people want because of allocations."

"The whole industry has seen price increases," said Dodd at Avient. "We could see a slight slowdown as supply improves later this year." Khanna at CP said that resin pricing "is something that we have no control over. … We just need to keep communication open." He added that at times he's communicated directly with his customers' own customers to help explain price increases.

Although Dever said "it's scary to see prices double," he added that Osterman has benefited by having credit insurance. Jamplast's Bernich said that pricing "might be close to a peak or a plateau … but it's probably not going to go back down at the same rates that it came up."

"We don't set market prices," said Goradia at Vinmar, adding that his firm at times has increased credit lines for customers as price increases "kept coming much too fast."

Mysza said that Mass Polymers tries to work with customers on price increases, but unfortunately customers often are faced with "buying resin or shutting their machines down."

Even in an unpredictable year, resin distribution execs offered predictions for the rest of 2021.

"If you look at the general economy, it makes you think that resin demand is going to skyrocket," Mysza said at Mass Polymers. Dmytruk said some Vinmar customers "think that demand and pricing will soften by the end of the year, but I'm not sure if that's going to happen. … Demand was strong in June and July."

Vinmar's Goradia added that if hurricane weather is mild, he's optimistic that resin markets "will get back to balance."

"If not, it's going to be tougher," he said. "But the U.S. economy looks strong, and there's a lot of pent-up demand."

"I don't see supply and demand loosening up for the rest of 2021," said Bernich at Jamplast. "We're in a strong economic time right now."

At Osterman, Dever acknowledged that some market watchers expect pricing to decline, but he added that demand remains strong and that it could be "early next year" before supply and demand balance is reached.

"People are still investing in their houses; they're still buying TVs and appliances," CP's Khanna said. "It's hard to see demand going away through '22 and into '23."

John at PolySource said he sees "a lot of momentum through the rest of the year." M. Holland's Fern said his company "doesn't see resin in balance" for the rest of 2021 and is planning for a strong 2022.

"The dialogue is still all about allocation and when can we get material and how much can we get," he added.

Tayler said Nexeo is seeing "double digit growth" and is ahead of 2019 — a pre-pandemic year — in both sales and volume.

Chase differed from most distribution execs, saying he "wasn't as optimistic" because of the potential impact of higher U.S. taxes or the federal government's proposed infrastructure plan. "Things could be flat to a slight downturn in 2022," he said.

At Conventus, Jorgensen said when he looks at the firm's key markets — like health care, sporting goods, plumbing, and kitchen and bath — he sees them "firing on all cylinders" and that he sees demand growth continuing.

Boston said General Polymers' sales were up 60 percent in 2020 and are on track for similar growth in 2021. "We're smarter and more focused," he added.

MGI's Liuzzo said that his firm "thinks demand will remain strong the rest of this year, as customer order books right now are still full."

At Avient, Dodd used an example from the world of track and field. "Last year showed how important relationships are," she said. "It's like a relay — you need timing, speed and not dropping the baton.

"We have a good team," she added, "and I'm optimistic with what I'm hearing from our customers for the rest of the year."