Market Report Plastics - March 2012
Information about the market for plastics is being presented by:
bvse - Bundesverband Sekundärrohstoffe und Entsorgung e.V.
1. The market for primary plastics
2011 was a top year for the plastics processing industry, explained Dr Bernd-Otto Kruse, President of GKV, cf. www.gkv.de. The industry’s turnover rose to record levels. According to initial figures, the plastics processing industry in Germany produced goods to the total value of € 55.9 billion last year. This means an increase of 8.8% compared to the already strong year before. The 13.5 million tons processed also exceeded the peak value of 12.9 million reached in 2007 by 10%. The building supplies industry with a rise of almost 5% was the only one to lag behind the other sectors, such as packaging, consumer goods and technical parts. According to Kruse reports, the industry’s businesses are feeling the pressure of the high raw materials and energy prices, and the current resumption of the rise in primary plastics prices is being observed with concern.
The demand for plastics remains high or even very high. Driven by the mineral oil prices and the considerable demand, the precursor prices continue to rise. Plastics processors now even have contracts well into the second quarter – not only to cushion against even more price rises, but also because of the high processing demand. Plastics prices will probably continue to rise in March and April.
In February the demand for standard plastics increased considerably again. The building market is also picking up again, resulting in price rises in PS and PVC. Thus, the average price of the ten types of plastics listed below is 1,391 €/t. Hence, the plastics price exceeds the previous month’s quote by 95 €/t. In February 2012, the following prices were listed in the EUWID Price Watch: LDPE film grade 1390 - 1450 €/t, LLDPE film grade 1300 - 1360 €/t, HDPE injection moulding 1350 - 1400 €/t, HDPE blow moulding 1350 - 1420 €/t, PS crystal clear 1490 - 1540 €/t, PS high impact 1610 - 1670 €/t, PP homopolymer 1350 - 1400 €/t, PP copolymer 1400 - 1450 €/t, PVC tube grade 1150 - 1190 €/t and PVC film/cables 1250 - 1290 €/t. In February, PET followed the trend of the other plastics. Hence, it was quoted at 1,550 – 1,620 €/t, i.e. its price had increased by 50 €/t.
The demand for technical plastics picked up well at the beginning of the year, but is not sufficiently influencing the price quotes yet. In February 2012, the price of ABS rose by 200 €/t, while PMMA, PC and PA held their own; the price of POM decreased by 100 €/t. The following technical plastics prices were listed in the EUWID Price Watch in February: PMMA crystal clear 2460 - 2600 €/t, ABS natural 2000 - 2150, ABS white/black 2100 - 2250, ABS mixed colours 2700 - 3000, PC crystal clear 2500 - 2800 €/t, PC GF 2800 - 3100 €/t, POM natural 2200 - 2350 €/t, PA 6 natural 2550 - 2750 €/t, PA 6 black 2550 - 2750 €/t, PA 6 GF reinforced 2900 - 3000 €/t, PA 66 natural 3200 - 3300 €/t and PA 66 GF 3300 - 3400 €/t. The future price development is predictable, not least because of the high demand, the rising precursor prices and the low stock levels; however, attempts are being made to replace technical plastics with standard plastics to the largest possible extent.
2. The market for secondary plastics
Recyclates from secondary plastics are in high demand because of the expected rise in primary plastics prices. The order books for the second quarter of 2012 are already full. Processors are trying to conclude longer-term contracts. Stock levels are being built up as far as possible. Prices are likely to rise further in March and April. The market behaviour indicated by EUWID and plasticker for the secondary markets is still affected to a lesser extent by the price rises that have occurred in the primary markets. Experts expect the prices to rise further in the secondary plastics markets.
Exports to the Far East are stable at the level attained. However, the People’s Republic of China is restructuring imports in several steps, and border controls at the import docks, including Hong Kong, are tightening up. Destatis published the import-export figures for post-consumer plastics for 2011. According to them, the amount of exports in 2011 was 1.45 million tons (as opposed to 1.50 million tons in 2010), while imports amounted to 0.29 million tons (as opposed to 0.33 million tons in 2010). Countries exporting to the Far East include: the People’s Republic of China (762,000 tons) with Hong Kong (228,500 tons), India (37,100 tons) and Malaysia (16,000 tons). The Netherlands, which often serves as a transit country, received 96,000 tons of post-consumer plastics. PET attained the highest amount of exports with 0.89 million tons (0.85 million tons in 2010).
2.1 EUWID Price Watch
In February 2012, EUWID showed price rises in post-user PE, PVC and PS. The price rises for the above grades ranged between 10 €/t and 30 €/t. As far as PE post industrial is concerned, the price of LDPE film natural (K40) rose by 10 €/t, i.e. it attained 420 – 520 €/t. Post-user PE prices changed as follows: LDPE shrink film natural (E40) 420 - 500 €/t, LDPE shrink film mixed colours (E49) 230 - 300 €/t, film transparent natural < 70 µm 330 - 370 €/t, film transparent mixed colours < 70 µm 80 - 120 €/t, LDPE farm film black or white > 70 µm (B41) 40 - 70 €/t, mixed film 98/2 330 – 370 €/t, mixed film 90/10 210 – 245 €/t, mixed film 80/20 190 - 225 €/t as well as HDPE hollow bodies mixed coloured (C29) 220 - 320 €/t. PP held its own compared to the previous month. The boom in the building industry led to price rises in PS and PVC. PS showed slight price increases of 10 €/t in the top range. Standard crystal clear 600 - 810 €/t, standard white 600 - 810 €/t and high impact white 700 - 850 €/t. The price rises in PVC range between 10 €/t and 20 €/t. Post industrial: PVC_P mixed colours 360 - 440 €/t, PVC_U mixed colours 430 - 570 €/t and tube grade mixed colours 410 - 560 €/t. Window frame regrind: window frame regrind white 620 - 740 €/t, window frame regrind mixed colours 480 - 590 €/t and window frame regrind single-shade white 720 - 840 €/t. The markets for used and disposable bottles show marked price increases. The following prices are now listed in the EUWID Price Watch for used and disposable bottles: PET transparent 400 - 450 €/t and coloured PET 220 - 270 €/t. The price rises in used PET bottles equal those of the primary goods. Experts expect the prices, as listed in the March Price Watch, to rise further in April.
2.2 plasticker price index
In February, the prices quoted in plasticker held their own compared the previous month. The price rises ranged between 10 €/t and 100 €/t, and there were price reductions of 30 €/t to 50 €/t. The low supply figure for regrind from PVC_P makes it impossible to quote guaranteed prices. The PVC_P price of 240 €/t is a positive development away from the extremely low listing of the previous month. The supply figure indicated by plasticker in February was good compared to the previous month. According to plasticker, the following price quotes changed by more than +/- 40 €/t in February: LDPE regrind + 70 €/t, PS regranulates – 50 €/t and PVC_U + 100 €/t. The first forecast of the March quotes, which apply to April, suggests that the business month will be stronger. A marginal price rise is expected to occur in April.
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”.
According to plasticker, technical plastics show a trend towards rising prices. The price of PBT regranulates has increased considerably by 290 €/t, while the other price rises have remained in the area of 10 €/t to 80 €/t. The quotes for PPC regranulates and PA 6.6 regrind have slightly decreased. Technical plastics were in great demand in February, too. The first forecast of the March quotes, which apply to April, shows a trend towards slight price rises in all technical plastics, and a good demand for technical plastics in March and April is perceivable.
Table 2: Prices of technical plastics in plasticker, quoted in €/t
5: equivalent to the grade “regranulates, black“.
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.
