After a flat month in April, North American polypropylene resin prices increased an average of 4 cents per pound in May.
The increase followed a similar rise for polymer-grade propylene monomer, which is used to make PP resin.
Prior to being flat in April, PP prices had dipped 3 cents in March. The March decline was the fifth consecutive monthly price drop for North American PP, with those declines totaling 24.5 cents.
In 2020, North American PP supplies will be impacted by the addition of almost 1 billion pounds of capacity by Braskem in LaPorte, Texas, and of 550 million pounds of capacity by Formosa Plastics Corp. USA in Point Comfort, Texas.