North American PVC resin prices surprised some market watchers by moving up an average of 2 cents per pound in February.
Prices for the material had been flat the previous two months after declining an average of 1 cent in November. 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 bounced back in February, possibly as a result of makers of pipe and other construction products building inventories in advance of warmer weather, which spurs construction activity.
“We had the strongest January ever,” an executive with a PVC supplier told Plastics News. “It could be centered around pipe and conduit. Those markets are strong and the export market is strong,”
Residential construction activity in the U.S. for January wasn’t robust, adding to the surprise of the February PVC price hike. Construction activity accounts for about 60 percent of North American PVC demand.
U.S. housing starts came in at an annual rate of 1.48 million, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. That number was flat vs. December and down 2 percent vs. the same month in 2023.