PP, engineering resin prices slip

North American polypropylene resin prices ticked down an average of 1 cent per pound in August, following a slight decline in the price of polymer-grade propylene (PGP) feedstock. Engineering resin prices in the region also saw slightly lower prices in recent months.

The 1-cent August drop comes after regional PP prices had been flat in July. It declined 4 cents in June and has fallen a total of 23 cents since April. Those declines also matched price drops seen for PGP feedstock. PP prices had increased a total of 27 cents in the first three months of 2023.

In a recent market report, PP supplier Blue Clover LLC of New York cited data from the American Chemistry Council showing PP inventories have moved lower for two consecutive months because of stronger demand and larger PP export volumes.

ACC also reported that U.S. PP demand in June was the strongest it's been since February 2022, adjusted for number of days in a month. The average days of supply of PP inventory also have tightened, dropping to 35 from a high of about 43 earlier this year.

"All of these signs point to a tighter PP market compared to what we have been used to in the April through June months," Blue Clover officials said.

Regional prices for nylon, polycarbonate and ABS resins all have seen small declines since July, according to market sources contacted by Plastics News. Low demand growth from processors and full inventories at the producer level were cited as reasons for the declines.

Prices for each of those materials dropped 2 cents per pound total in July and August. Prices for nylon 6 resins had been down 10 cents in total in May and June, with nylon 6/6 prices down 13 cents in those two months. PC prices declined an average of 6 cents and ABS prices slumped an average of 7 cents in May and June.

"It feels like the [engineering resins] market is bouncing on the bottom," according to a resin buyer in the Midwest U.S. "Demand is still down, but we're not seeing prices drop by nickels and dimes like we did earlier in the year.

"Higher interest rates are affecting the economy," the buyer said. "A lot of people remodeled their houses during COVID, but you're not going to do that every year."

Looking to the rest of 2023, the buyer said engineering resins could see more small price drops.

"The hope is that the market bounces back in the first quarter of next year," the buyer added.