North American suspension PVC resin prices ticked up an average of 1 cent per pound in March, as buyers prepared for the upcoming construction season.
Prices had moved up 2 cents in February after being flat for the previous two months. A slow construction market — due in part to high interest rates — had a cooling effect on the PVC market for most of 2024.
For full-year 2024, regional PVC prices were down a net of 4 cents.
But the market appears to be bouncing back, as makers of pipe and other construction products build inventories in advance of the warmer weather that spurs construction activity.
An executive with a PVC supplier told Plastics News that PVC resin sales in the first two months of 2025 were up more than 3 percent vs. the same period in 2024. The executive added that February operating rates were 6 percent higher than those seen in January.
Residential construction activity in the U.S. for February remained lukewarm, even as PVC demand rose. Construction activity accounts for about 60 percent of North American PVC demand.
U.S. housing starts for February came in at an annual rate of 1.46 million, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. That number was down almost 1 percent vs. January and down more than 6 percent vs. the same month in 2024.
A recent report from consulting firm ICIS in Houston said the U.S. PVC market "is facing continued headwinds as tariff-related uncertainties persist."
According to the report, the domestic PVC market is expected to grow 1-3 percent this year, but it continues to face challenges in housing and construction. The report added that export markets for U.S. PVC "continue to wrestle with the threat of protectionist policies and tariffs at home and abroad."
The U.S. PVC market, according to the report, "has been healthy to start the year but has been saddled with excess supply" following capacity additions in late 2024. That new capacity, coupled with strong run rates, resulted in high inventory levels to start the year, the report said. This added supply "comes in contrast to a U.S. housing market plagued by high prices and high borrowing costs," the report added.
U.S. PVC exports will also face their share of challenges coming primarily via protectionist policies, according to the report. Potential 25 percent tariffs on Mexico and Canada could present challenges, as the U.S. exports significant volumes of PVC to each country.
The U.S. then brings back finished PVC goods for use in medical, building and construction auto and industrial applications. Reciprocal tariffs "could increase the cost of these imports and dent U.S. PVC demand," the report said.
