Now that hurricane Isaac has wound down, we see that many of the concerns for greater damage have not come to pass.
During the storm buildup, there was certainly some trepidation over the possibility of damage and disruption to the supply of resins for the plastics industry. At this point, the hurricane has proved to be a non-event.
As for the industry as a whole, supplies are tighter now than they were in the early summer. This has led to some strength for rising prices. Indeed, August was welcomed with a 3- to 5-cent per pound increase, and another 5-cent increase was put on the table for September 1. At this time, I’m hearing varying reports, but it looks like September may hold off and the August increase may be consolidated into a solid 5-cent increase among most suppliers. It is always tough to gauge the actual story when it is early in the month. More clarity on pricing usually manifests within a couple weeks.
For now, things are fairly stable and Isaac did not prove to cause any major issues in resin supply.