We’ve heard a constant drumbeat from resin suppliers for increases in raw material pricing each month of this year. Two have gone through—a 5-cent increase and a 4-cent increase.
For a couple months now, there has been an additional 4-cent increase in play. From what we have seen, it is still official, but implementation is another matter (so far as June contracts).
Here is a quote from The Plastics Exchange‘s Market Update:
“Spot Polyethylene prices were steady and it seems that June contracts could be flat for the third straight month, as production constrained supplies offset generally softer demand. When the final figures were tallied, May proved to be a strong sales month; domestic buyers purchased nearly 2.7 billion lbs of Polyethylene, 150 million lbs more than the 2013 YTD monthly average. Exports were also swift as nearly 750 million lbs were sent offshore, the most this year. Even though reactors ran at a solid 93% of nameplate capacity, producers were able to reduce their inventories by 250 million lbs, falling below 3.1 billion lbs for the first time since September 2012.”
From my reading, I see some resilient softness in the market as a whole. It may very well turn out that June pricing does end up to be flat…and that the increase will be tried again in July. For now, we’ll have to wait and see.
If you have any questions about resin pricing or anything else, please don’t hesitate to call us at (800) 272-2634 or send us an email. Thank you for your continued business.