Once the mid-Feb storm hit, there was little doubt that Polyethylene producers would successfully implement their $.07/lb increase onto February contracts, bringing total gains to $.36/lb since June. Could it get worse? Yes. On Friday, a fire at the Pemex Cangrejera Petrochemical complex in Mexico, shut down yet another major Polyethylene production facility, further restricting PE resin supplies. This may very well be the catalyst that will carr... [More]

Polypropylene conditions have tightened further, creating an untenable environment. Producer’s collective inventories had sunk to the lowest level in our records, just 17 days of monthly sales, and that was even before the Houston storm shuttered 85% of US PP capacity. The added shock has driven availability even lower and resin prices screaming to new record levels. Spot Polypropylene prices have jumped in leaps and bounds, often scoring $.05/lb... [More]