Market Report Plastics - August 2008

Information about the market for plastics is being presented by:
bvse - Bundesverband Sekundärrohstoffe und Entsorgung e.V.

1. The market for primary plastics

The prices of all standard plastics in the primary market are reported to have risen distinctly in July! These price rises are a result of soaring oil prices, which lead to exorbitant increases in petrochemical raw materials. Hence, price rises could be achieved for the second time in a row. In the EUWID Price Watch the average price of the ten sorts of plastics listed below is 1371 €/to, thus exceeding that of the previous month by 116 €/to: LDPE film grade is quoted at 1500 –1560 €/to, LLDPE film grade at 1490 – 1550 €/to, HDPE injection moulding at 1440 – 1520 €/to, HDPE blow moulding at 1450 – 1530 €/to, PS general purpose at 1340 – 1390 €/to, PS high impact at 1390 – 1440 €/to, PP homopolymer at 1290 – 1380 €/to, PP copolymer at 1340 – 1430 €/to, PVC tube grade at 1050 – 1090 €/to, PVC film at 1100 – 1130 €/to. PET: At the beginning of July PET packaging material was quoted at 1340 – 1460 €/to, thus exceeding the previous month by 90 €/to on average. Great demand caused massive price rises: the price of PE climbed by 150 – 210 €/to, that of PS by 40 – 50 €/to, PP by 50 – 100 €/to and that of PVC by 90 €/to. Further price rises are predicted for August.

Price correction on the London Metal Exchange (LME): in calendar week 32* the purchase prices for September, October and November of PP are currently at 1795 US-$ respectively and those of LLDPE at 1675 US-$ respectively. Thus September quotes for PP have decreased by 35 €/to compared to the previous month, whereas those for LLDPE have decreased by 45 €/to.

2 . The market for secondary plastics

According to the EUWID Price Watch the secondary market for standard plastics underwent several changes in July. A selection of PE and PP grades showed moderate price rises; PS prices climbed more distinctly. With the exception of PVC, regrind was traded at a higher price. High-quality film was in great demand for export trade. Despite the summer break there is still considerable demand, which continues to be used for stock replenishment.

The price rises observed in July are due to the increase in new goods. Further price rises are expected for August and September; these are explained by the higher cost of energy, transport and wages. Price rises are predicted for high-quality waste plastics, i.e. for production waste and for the post-user segment. The price rises predicted for recyclates should easily be achievable, as prices are rising in the primary market.

Plasticker reports on the following price changes greater than/less than 40 €/to for standard plastics compared to June: HDPE regranulates + 70 €/to, PS regrind + 60 €/to and PET bale goods – 40 €/to. Technical plastics show the following changes greater/less than 50 €/to compared to the previous month: PC regranulates – 60 €/to, PA 6.6 regrind + 70 €/to as well as PA 6.6 regranulates – 60 €/to.

2.1 EUWID Price Watch

PE: slight price increases by 13 €/to on average for all sorts of PE post-industrial waste: HDPE mixed colours 460 – 620 €/to, HDPE natural 570 – 700 €/to, LDPE natural 500 – 700 €/to, LDPE film mixed colours (K49) 300 – 400 €/to and LDPE film natural (K40) 480 – 550 €/to. Slight price increases in the following sorts of plastics within the PE post-user segment: film transparent natural < 70 µm 380 – 435 €/to, LDPE farm film natural < 70 µm (B40) 20 – 60 €/to, mixed film (80/20) 180 – 225 €/to and (98/2) 390 – 435 €/to as well as HDPE hollow bodies mixed colours (C29) 150 – 250 €/to. The LDPE farm film (B40) has developed from a low-priced product causing additional costs into a product achieving a good turnover.

PP post-industrial wastesare listed throughout with an increase of 10 – 30 €/to. Prices of PP regrind for all grades and types are now fluctuating between 460 and 660 €/to. The following prices apply: film mixed colours (K59) 130 – 250 €/to, film natural (K50) 350 – 490 €/to, homopolymer mixed colours 460 – 600 €/to, homopolymer natural 570 – 660 €/to, copolymer mixed colours 460 – 600 €/to and copolymer natural 570 – 660 €/to.

PS post-industrial waste is now quoted at 510 – 740 €/to for all grades. Price increases of 20 – 30 €/to have been realized. The following prices apply: standard mixed colours 510 – 550 €/to, standard crystal clear 530 – 700 €/to, standard white 520 – 660 €/to, high impact mixed colours 520 – 650 €/to, high impact black 540 – 650 €/to and high impact white 570 – 740 €/to. High-quality goods have also been able to achieve higher prices.

PVC: the prices of windowframe regrind and PVC post-industrial waste remain unchanged. PVC products remain untouched by the price increases that have occurred in the primary market; the great demand for PVC products is due to increased construction activity.

PET post-user: The situation on the PET market remains tense. The warm temperatures have led to a rise in beverage consumption and thus to an increase in the number of goods. The processing capacity has decreased in July and August owing to hold ups in production. Furthermore, the demand for PET products continues to be on the decline in the export trade with the Far East. However, the market does not respond consistently and market analyses continue to vary considerably. The two EUWID quotes for July are: single-use bottles natural/light blue 310 - 340 €/to, single-use bottles mixed colours 30 – 190 €/to. Reuse system bottles mixed colours are quoted at 150 – 190 €/to. A slight decrease in input prices by 10 €/to has been achieved for PET single-use bottles mixed colours. Mixed low-quality materials can be poorly exploited commercially.

2.2 Plasticker Price Index

It is possible to calculate a price index for secondary plastics, in particular for bale goods, regrind and regranulates for all grades on the basis of the quotes given on the raw material exchange, as provided by www. plasticker.de. For instance, the following July quotes apply: HDPE bale goods 350 €/to, HDPE regrind 630 €/to, HDPE regranulates 920 €/to, LDPE bale goods 290 €/to, LDPE regrind 580 €/to, LDPE regranulates 860 €/to, PP bale goods 300 €/to, PP regrind 590 €/to, PP regranulates 970 €/to, PS regrind 630 €/to, PS regranulates 960 €/to, PVC-P regrind 480 €/to, PVC-U regrind 490 €/to, PET bale goods 280 €/to, PET regrind 530 €/to and PET regranulates - €/to. This price index shows a slight tendency towards declining PET prices, too.

Technical plastics regranulates are quoted as follows: PC regrind 1040 €/to, PC regranulates 2280 €/to, PA 6 regrind 880 €/to, PA 6 regranulates 1760 €/to, PA 6.6 regrind 920 €/to as well as PA 6.6 regrind 1910 €/to.

The given prices are, above all, based on the monthly published EUWID Price Watch for primary plastics and waste plastics. The price quotes for waste plastics refer to bale goods or regrind in this case. The given prices were quoted for business transactions between sorting plants and sales agents or the processing industry, as the case may be. As a rule, prices refer to quantities in excess of 20 to. The prices achievable in trade can differ considerably from the indicated price range in both directions, depending on the sort of plastic material offered. The abbreviations used for some grades refer to the list of waste plastics published by the German Federal Association for Secondary Raw Materials and Waste Disposal (bvse)/Bureau of International Recycling (BIR). This market report is based on various sources which have been correspondingly edited by journalists. Finally, our own sources of information and enquiries have been used in this market report.