North American polypropylene resin prices continued their upswing in early 2025, moving up an average of 4 cents per pound in February.
That price hike followed higher prices for polymer-grade propylene (PGP) feedstock. PP prices had been up 5 cents in January, again following the PGP market.
In a market update, PP supplier Blue Clover of New York said, based on market fundamentals, PGP prices could have been even higher in February, since several production units had operating challenges.
In spite of that situation, Blue Clover said "there's ample supply of PGP that can deal with any supply restraints that come up. … Normally, [operating challenges] would pop the market but there's enough inventory to deal with it, for now.
They added confusion over tariffs proposed by the Trump administration "has created hesitancy in manufacturing, leading to less demand for PGP derivatives than expected."
Longer term, LyondellBasell's recent decision to add almost 900 million pounds of annual propylene production capacity will help propylene supplies in the region. Construction of the expansion at the firm's Channelview site near Houston will begin construction in the third quarter of 2025, with a projected startup in late 2028.
Kim Foley, global olefins & polyolefins and refining executive vice president, said the expansion "strengthens [LYB's] ability to meet increasing customer demand and improve our self-sufficiency as we grow and upgrade a core business line."
Houston-based LYB is a major supplier of polyethylene and PP resins, as well as North America's largest compounder. The firm posted sales of $40.3 billion in 2024.
North American PP prices had been down an average of 2.5 cents in December. Combined with previous increases and decreases, regional PP prices finished 2024 with a net price drop of 9 cents per pound.