Market Report Plastics - September 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 for the third time in a row. Despite a low demand, manufacturers increased the prices of standard plastics. The low demand is explained by the holiday season in Europe. Stocks are still abundant. Furthermore, plastic processors have agreed upon longer -term delivery contracts for their input. Purchasers are hesitant, speculating on falling prices in the fourth quarter. In the EUWID Price Watch the average price of the ten sorts of plastics listed below is now 1404 €/to, thus exceeding that of the previous month by 33 €/to: LDPE film grade is quoted at 1530 - 1600 €/to, LLDPE film grade at 1520 – 1580 €/to, HDPE injection moulding at 1470 – 1560 €/to, HDPE blow moulding at 1480 – 1570 €/to, PS general purpose at 1390 – 1450 €/to, PS high impact at 1450 – 1440 €/to, PP homopolymer at 1320 – 1410 €/to, PP copolymer at 1370 – 1460 €/to, PVC tube grade at 1060 – 1100 €/to, PVC film/cables at 1100 – 1140 €/to. PET: At the beginning of September PET packaging material was quoted at 1320 – 1410 €/to, thus falling short of the previous month by 35 €/to on average. Further PET price decreases are under discussion. Plastics manufacturers want to achieve further price rises for standard plastics in September, too.

In the EUWID Price Watch the prices quotes for technical plastics remain unchanged, except for POM. The price of POM has increased by 50 €/to. The following August quotes apply: PMMA crystal clear 2550 – 2700 €/to, ABS natural 1800 – 1900, ABS white/black 1880 – 2000, ABS mixed colours 2480 – 260, PC crystal clear 2750 – 2900 €/to, PC GF 2950 – 3100 €/to, POM natural 2250 – 230 €/to, PA 6 natural 2550 – 2800 €/to, PA 6 black 2550 – 2800 €/to, PA 6 GF reinforced 2800 – 3000 €/to, PA 66 natural 2800 – 2990 €/to and PA 66 GF 3050 – 3240 €/to. Even though the demand for technical plastics has increased, the market continues to be static. As an ecomomic upswing is looming, the prices of technical plastics are expected to remain stable or decline.

Price correction on the London Metal Exchange (LME): in the 32nd calendar week the purchase prices for September, October and November of PP were at 1523 US-$ respectively and those of LLDPE at 1620 US-$ respectively. Thus October quotes for PP decreased by 272 €/to compared to the previous month, whereas those for LLDPE decreased by 55 €/to. Market experts believe that price increases in standard plastics have already transgressed the peak. Current economic data also show that prices tend to be on the decline.

2. The market for secondary plastics

According to the EUWID Price Watch the secondary market for standard plastics underwent only minor changes in August. On the whole, the summer break resulted in market consolidation. Faced with current economic data, recyclers were hesitant. Stocks were abundant. High-quality regranulates could partly obtain higher prices than in the previous month. The prices of high-quality regrind remained unchanged. With a view to the economic upswing, price decreases are quite likely to occur in the secondary market for standard plastics, too. Exports to China have decreased as a result of the Olympic Games and the Paralympics. The demand from the Far East is expected to rise again in October.

Plasticker

reports on the following price changes greater than/less than 40 €/to for standard plastics compared to July: HDPE bale goods + 70 €/to, HDPE regrind – 70 €/to, PVC-P regrind -70 €/to and PET bale goods -50 €/to. Technical plastics show the following changes greater/less than 50 €/to compared to the previous month: PC regranulates + 130 €/to as well as PA 6.6 regranulates + 130 €/to.

2.1 EUWID Price Watch

PE: The EUWID Price Watch merely shows variations in PE. Film was in great demand and achieved high prices both on the domestic market and in export trade. The quotes for PE post-industrial waste remain unchanged. In the PE post-user segment the prices of the following kinds of plastics have increased by 10 to 20 €/to: film transparent natural < 70 µm 440 – 445 €/to, mixed film (90/10) 225 – 280 €/to, mixed film (80/20) 200 – 240 €/to and (98/2) 395 – 445 €/to. LDPE farm film (B40) continues to achieve a good market turnover, viz. 20 – 60 €/to.

The price quotes for PP and PS post-industrial wastes remain unchanged – as do the prices quoted for PVC.

PET post-user: The situation on the PET market remains unclear. On the one hand, there are reports on the expansion of manufacturing and processing capacities; on the other hand, production plants are reported to have been closed down. Natural bottles continue to achieve high prices. The prices of mixed-colour grades tend to be on the decline. Domestic demand can only be boosted by increasing imports. The demand for PET bottles from the Far East continues to be distinctly lower than in previous years. The two EUWID quotes for August are: single-use bottles natural 310 - 340 €/to, single-use bottles mixed colours 30 – 190 €/to. In the meantime a great number of grades are traded on the European markets. Reuse system bottles, natural range from 300 – 390 €/to ex works. In the meantime mixed-coloured reuse system bottles are delivered free domicile within a very wide price range, viz. from 30 – 270 €/to.

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 August quotes apply: HDPE bale goods 280 €/to, HDPE regrind 660 €/to, HDPE regranulates 940 €/to, LDPE bale goods 290 €/to, LDPE regrind 510 €/to, LDPE regranulates 880 €/to, PP bale goods 260 €/to, PP regrind 630 €/to, PP regranulates 940 €/to, PS regrind 650 €/to, PS regranulates 950 €/to, PVC-P regrind 410 €/to, PVC-U regrind 500 €/to, PET bale goods 230 €/to, PET regrind 520 €/to and PET regranulates (1100) €/to.

Technical plastics regranulates are quoted as follows: PC regrind 1060 €/to, PC regranulates 2410 €/to, PA 6 regrind 840 €/to, PA 6 regranulates 1890 €/to, PA 6.6 regrind 950 €/to as well as PA 6.6 regranulates 1930 €/to.

The EUWID price quotes refer to bale goods or regrind. 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 ex works. The prices attainable in trade can differ considerably from the indicated price range in both directions, depending on the grade of the type of plastic material quoted. 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).