Market Report Plastics - March 2009
Information about the market for plastics is being presented by:
bvse - Bundesverband Sekundärrohstoffe und Entsorgung e.V.
1 The market for primary plastics
The primary market for standard plastics shows an upward trend, i.e. an interim high. Stocks have been replenished and preliminary purchases have been carried out since the end of January, which has led to immediate price adjustments. It remains to be seen how long this trend will continue. However, not all standard plastics have been able to benefit from the upward trend. The prices of PE plastics have increased by 10 30 /to. The prices of PP have remained unchanged, whereas the quotes for PVC have decreased by 30 /to. Hence, various measures to decrease the supply of goods, such as suspending production, reducing production as well as bringing forward maintenance breaks, continue to be taken.
According to the EUWID Price Watch the average February quote for the ten types of plastics listed below is 814 /to; thus it has remained unchanged compared to the previous month. The price index for standard plastics shows the following price quotes: LDPE film grade 780-850 /to, LLDPE film grade 780-850 /to, HDPE injection moulding 770-830 /to, HDPE blow moulding 770-800 /o, PS general purpose 770-840 /to, PS high impact 830-900 /to, PP homopolymer 750-850 /to, PP copolymer 800-900 /to, PVC tube grade 760-800 /to, PVC film/cables 800-840 /to. The quotes for PE and PS plastics have slightly increased compared to the previous month; those for PP have remained unchanged and PVC has slightly decreased. PET: In February packaging PET was quoted at 1000 1040 /to, thus exceeding the previous month by 65 /to on average. In this way the loss incurred in the previous month was offset. The global demand for PET slightly increased. The wordwide excess supply of PET could be partially reduced.
The EUWID Price Watch for February shows distinct price reductions in all technical plastics, which are approximately 10 30 /to for all kinds of plastics. The difficult state of technical plastics is, above all, put down to the lack of demand in the automobile industry. The quotes for two months are: PMMA crystal clear 2440-2600 /to, ABS natural 1300-1500 /to, ABS white or black 1380-1600 /to, ABS mixed colours 2000-2250 /to, PC crystal clear 2400-2600 /to, PC GF 2600-2800 /to, POM natural 2000-2150 /to, PA 6 natural 1900-2200 /to, PA 6 black 1900-2200 /to, PA 6 GF reinforced 2150-2400 /to, PA 66 natural 2300-2600 /to und PA 66 GF 2550-2850 /to. Owing to the low demand, slowdowns in production have not yet led to a distinct reduction in supply. Sales of technical plastics are not expected to increase until the second half of this year.
The London Metal Exchange (LME) shows price rises. The quotes submitted here are average values based on LME purchase and sales prices. In week 12 the purchase prices of PP for March, April and May were at 840 US-$, 850 US-$ and 860 US-$ respectively, whereas those of LLDPE were at 875 US-$ in April and May respectively. Thus April quotes for PP increased by 60 US-$/to compared to the previous month, whereas those for LLDPE rose by 115 US-$ /to. Hence, the development of PP and LLDPE on the LME has continued to stabilize. With the exception of benzole, which decreased in price by 24 /to, raw material prices (ethene, propene, styrene, para-xylole) increased by 85 /to, 42 /to, 25 /to and 110 /to from February till March. Some experts view this as the end of the decline in the prices of standard plastics.
2. The market for secondary raw materials
The development of the markets for secondary plastics can still be described as inconsistent, confusing and unsatisfactory. Due to the economic and financial crisis the overall situation on the markets for secondary plastics was still difficult in February and March. The relatively favourable prices of virgin materials are putting additional pressure on recyclates. The overall situation is characterized by low demand and considerable supply. Nevertheless the supply of post-industrial wastes is expected to decrease in the second half of this year. There is an increased demand for some types of plastics, above all for PE grades that are exported. Several stocks have been replenished at favourable terms since the end of January. Pricing is often complicated by the fact that it is impossible to set up a convincing index on the basis of individual transactions. On the whole, exports to the Far East have been much more successful than in previous months. However, there are some indications that this boom is about to subside again.
2.1 EUWID Price Watch
The EUWID Price Watch for February shows declining prices almost throughout. Price reductions range between 10 and 120 /to. Higher price agreements, ranging between 20 and 70 /to, are only reported for certain grades of export goods.
Again, the prices of PE post-industrial wastes have decreased by roughly 25 50 /to: HDPE mixed colours 300-450 /t, HDPE natural 400-530 /t, LDPE mixed colours 250-400 /t, LDPE natural 350-450 /t, LDPE film mixed colours (K49) 150-250 /t und LDPE film natural (K40) 300-450 /t. The market for PE post-industrial wastes is characterized by low sales. Film wastes were in part sold to the Far East at distinctly more favourable prices than is indicated by the Price Watch. The prices quoted for PE post user goods are inconsistent. Depending on the type of plastics, the quotes for export film have increased by 20-70 /to, whereas those for regrind from crates have decreased by 10 50 /to. The February quotes are: LDPE shrink film natural (E40) 230-300 /t, LDPE shrink film mixed colours (E49) 170-200 /t, LDPE stretch film natural (E70) --- /t, film transparent natural <70 mm 220-270 /t, film transparent coloured <70 mm 10-70 /t, LDPE farm film natural <70 mm (B40) --- /t LDPE farm film black or white >70 mm (B41) 0-40 /t, mixed film (90/10) 130-170 /t, mixed film (80/20) 90-120 /t, HDPE hollow bodies mixed colours (C29) 0-80 /t, HDPE regrind from crates colour-separated 400-450 /t und HDPE-regrind from crates mixed colours 300-440 /t.
PP: The PP markets are stagnating; they continue to show a low demand and low sales. The decline in prices continues: film mixed colours (K59) 0-100 /t, film natural (K50) 150-200 /t, homopolymer mixed colours 250-400 /t, homopolymer natural 300-500 /t, copolymer mixed colours 250-400 /t und copolymer natural 350-500 /t. The price quotes for homopolymer natural and copolymer mixed colours have remained unchanged.
PS: The decline in prices has meanwhile reached the PS markets as well. Depending on the grade, price decreases range between 30 and 150 /t. The February quotes are: standard mixed colours 300-400 /t, standard crystal clear 400-500 /t, standard white 400-500 /t, high impact mixed colours 300-400 /t, high impact black 320-480 /t und high impact white 400-550 /t.
PVC: The prices of post-industrial wastes and windowframe regrind have also decreased by 70/to on average on the PVC market, which is normally very stable. PVC post-industrial wastes: PVC-P transparent 330-400 /t, PVC-P mixed colours 300-350 /t, PVC-U transparent --- /t, PVC-U mixed colours 200-350 /t und tube grade mixed colours 200-350. PVC windowframe regrind: windowframe regrind white 500-600 /t, windowframe regrind mixed colours 300-400 /t und windowframe regrind single-shade white 660-740 /t. Business is still relatively satisfactory in the private construction sector, whereas the public construction sector is stagnating.
PET post user: EUWID has suspended its PET quotes for three months, as the market is undergoing a complete change. The demand for PET is slightly increasing, which is to due the time of year. According to experts the rise in the prices of transparent PET bottles is due to an increase in the demand for PET from the Far East, where coloured goods no longer sell. Transparent PET bottles are quoted at 140 190 /to, whereas coloured bottles are quoted at 40 80 /to. The measures taken to reduce the supply of goods, such as suspending production, have not had a positive effect yet. The price increase on the primary market gives rise to hope for the market of PET recyclates.
2.2. plasticker price index
The price quotes for secondary plastics can be calculated on the basis of plasticker (cf. www. plasticker.de). 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.Therefore, the information provided by plasticker indicates distinctly different market behaviour than the prices quoted by EUWID. Prices changed amazingly little from January 2009 till February 2009. At first sight, the March quotes reveal a consolidation of standard plastics prices. Hence, the following price changes greater than/less than 40 /to can be reported for February compared to January: LDPE regrind -80 /to as well as PET bale goods 50 /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).
