Market Report Plastics - February 2013
Information about the market for plastics is being presented by:
bvse - Bundesverband Sekundärrohstoffe und Entsorgung e.V.
1. The market for primary plastics
In January, KI Dialog published a report on its biannual survey of the economic situation. In the second half of 2012, the pull of the general economic downswing was felt by the German plastics industry. During the last six months of 2012, only 20 per cent of companies saw an increase in business activity relative to the first half-year; for 43 per cent of companies, business deteriorated. However, the predictions for the first six months of 2013 are definitely favourable. Nevertheless, raw material prices, which have developed independently from the overall economic situation, are likely to rise in 2012 - despite the decline in demand.
As far as standard plastics are concerned, producers increased their prices in January. On the one hand, the prices were increased to offset the price rises in precursors; on the other hand, they were raised to make up for the losses incurred in the previous year. However, the demand for plastics was still low in January. The developments in demand for February and March will show whether or not the price rises that occurred in January will hold their own. To date, plastics purchasers have expected a price decline to occur in February. Hence, the demand for plastics was rather restrained in January.
The EUWID Price Watch for January showed price rises of 5 /t to 65 /t in all standard plastics. The most considerable price rises occurred in HDPE, with 60 /t on average, and in PS, which attained 58 /t on average. PVC prices were raised by no more than 5 /t on average. The average price for the ten types of plastics listed by EUWID was 1474 /t. Hence, the plastics price rose by 38 /t compared to the previous month. In January, the following prices were quoted by EUWID for standard plastics: LDPE-film grade 1440 - 1500 /t, LLDPE film grade 1430 - 1490 /t, HDPE injection moulding 1460 - 1530 /t, HDPE blow moulding 1470 - 1540 /t, PS crystal clear 1650 - 1690 /t, PS high impact 1760 - 1810 /t, PP homopolymer 1380 - 1470 /t, PP copolymer 1430 - 1520 /t, PVC tube grade 1160 - 1190 /t and PVC film/cables 1260 - 1290 /t. The PET markets are under pressure because pricing is being determined by surplus supply.
2. The market for secondary plastics
In the EUWID Price Watch for January, the prices of bale goods and regrind nearly held their own; in plasticker the prices of bale goods, regrind and regranulates decreased once again, albeit only marginally. There are reports by EUWID on favourable developments in the plastics markets; nevertheless, the plastics quotes nearly remained unchanged. According to plasticker, the January demand was satisfactory, too. To date, the price rise in primary goods has only had a very marginal impact on secondary goods. According to EUWID, the demand from the Far East was surprisingly high in January. Exports to the People΄s Republic of China are still subject to tight border controls. As a result of the Chinese New Year΄s celebrations, prices are expected to hold their own in February, while demand is expected to fall.
2.1 EUWID Price Watch
The price changes indicated by EUWID in the January Price Watch were marginal again: the prices of four post-user PE grades changed by 5 /t to 10 /t. All other quotes held their own. In January, the number of orders for film increased in the export trade with the Far East. As a consequence, thin film and mixed film were quoted at slightly higher prices. According to EUWID, there were also shortages in the supply of bale goods. In particular, PP and PS recyclates were reported to be in great demand. As a result of the increase in primary goods, PS prices are expected to rise. There has been very little demand for PVC and PS from the building industry up till now, which is due to the winter break.
According to recycling companies, there was a considerable demand for PET recyclates in January. PET stocks decreased markedly. As a result of the winter season, the bottle quantities available on the domestic market are lower than they were during the summer months. At present German processors can purchase bottles from foreign markets at favourable prices. Nevertheless, processors criticise the fact that the number of bottles exported from Germany to the Far East is still high. On a European scale, a maximum of 50 per cent of the bottles available is estimated to be collected, which leaves a large potential for bottle collection in this area. Subsequent to having held their own for four months, PET bottle prices rose in January. The price of PET transparent increased by 10 /t on average, and the quote for PET coloured rose by 15/t. The following prices were listed: PET transparent 350 - 410 /t and PET coloured 180 - 220 /t.
2.2 plasticker price index
The plasticker internet platform publishes quotes on an hourly basis. However, the prices quoted merely reflect an interim situation rather than the final February listings. On 15 February 2013, the plasticker internet platform indicated a slight price decline of 9 /t on average in standard plastics for February relative to January 2013. The corresponding price decline in technical plastics, which was equally marginal, attained 20 /t.
Standardkunststoffe: The January quotes, which attained 615 /t, fell short of those for December by 29 /t. There was a satisfactory demand for standard plastics in January. The long-term trend shows that the prices of HDPE bale goods and PS regrind have been steadily decreasing. The January Price Index indicates price cuts of 10 /t to 110 /t and price rises of 10 /t to 110 /t. According to plasticker, the following quotes changed by more than +/- 40 /t relative to the previous month: LDPE bale goods + 110, PP bale goods - 90 /t, PP regranulates + 50 /t, PS regranulates - 110/t and PET bale goods mixed colours - 60 /t.
The first forecast of the February quotes, whose final listings cannot, however, be published until March, indicates an average price of 606 /t. Hence, the prices will more or less hold their own. To date, there has been a heavy demand for standard plastics in February.
Table 1: Prices of standard plastics in plasticker, quoted in /t
*: Supply figures too low to attain statistical significance; 1: equivalent to the grade "post-industrial, mixed colours"; 2: equivalent to K49; 3: equivalent to K59; 4: equivalent to "standard, mixed colours"; 5: equivalent to the grade "regranulates, black", 6: forecast (likely to be amended by additional quotes)
Technical plastics: In January 2013, the prices of technical plastics rose by 38 /t relative to December 2012, which indicates price stability for January. In January, the demand for technical plastics was satisfactory to good, with price rises ranging from 20 /t to 140/t. The price of PC regrind fell by 40 /t, whereas the quote for PBT regrind fell by 50 /t. The longer-term trend shows that PA 6.6 regranulates have been steadily decreasing. According to plasticker the following quotes changed by more than +/- 70 /t: PBT regranulates +100 /t, PA 6 regrind +100 /t, PA 6 regranulates +80 /t, PA 6.6 regrind +140 /t and POM regranulates +90 /t.
The first forecast of the Febuary quotes, whose final listings cannot, however, be published until early March, indicates a slight price decrease of 20 /t on average. Thus, prices are likely to remain stable in February. To date, there has been a heavy demand for technical plastics in February.
Table 2: Prices of technical plastics in plasticker, quoted in /t
5: equivalent to the grade "regranulates, black". 6 forecast (may be amended by additional quotes)
No guarantee for any of the prices. All EUWID prices are quoted ex works. As a rule, the prices quoted refer to quantities in excess of 20 tons. The monthly quotes for secondary plastics, which are updated on an hourly basis, can be calculated using the price lists that are derived from the quotations published in the raw material exchange plasticker. The prices listed in this index are quoted with reservation - as the majority of the quotes submitted are not necessarily equivalent to the sales prices. Furthermore, plasticker does not distinguish between the following grades: transparent, mixed colours or colour-separated. Therefore, the information provided by plasticker may indicate different market behaviour than the prices quoted by EUWID.
