Hundreds of Plastics, Chemicals, Steel and Nonferrous Firms Raise Prices: Trinseo, ExxonMobil Lead, Flexible Packaging Procurement Under Pressure

The raw-material price wave has not eased; it has thrown manufacturing operations into disarray.

Quotations are being revised daily—and sometimes hourly.

Buyers are holding back as prices leap; without raw materials there is no production, yet buying at these levels is hard to absorb, leaving companies in a dilemma.

Some industry insiders warn that a chain of increases may push certain firms to the brink.

Trinseo: PS, ABS and other products to rise by as much as RMB 1,300.

The global manufacturer of materials, plastics, latex adhesives and synthetic rubber has sent a letter, saying its European affiliate

will raise prices for all grades of PS, ABS and SAN resins in Europe.

Effective May 1, 2021, or under existing contract terms, contract and spot prices for the following products will be increased:

Styron GPPS

Up €105/tonne (approx. RMB 818/tonne);

Styron and Styron A-Tech, Styron X-Tech and C-Tech HIPS

Up €105/tonne (approx. RMB 818/tonne);

Magnum ABS resin

Up €160/tonne (approx. RMB 1,247/tonne);

TYRIL SAN resin

Up €170/tonne (approx. RMB 1,325/tonne).

ExxonMobil: TPV up RMB 1,300

On May 1, ExxonMobil decided to, effective immediately,

raise Santoprene (TPV) product prices by US$200/tonne (RMB 1,286).

Polyester resin up RMB 500/tonne; several companies suspend quotations.

Jiangsu Damery New Material Co., Ltd. said in a letter:

Outdoor and indoor polyester prices will each rise by RMB 500/tonne.

If customer funds do not arrive on schedule, polyester supply will be temporarily suspended.

Since May, neopentyl glycol, a raw material for polyester resin,

has risen by RMB 1,600/tonne to RMB 19,250/tonne, up 9.07% and a 12-month high.

Some downstream resin plants are purchasing only as needed; NPG plant orders remain supported, and short-term shipment pressure is controllable.

Isobutyraldehyde, the upstream feedstock for NPG,

rose RMB 1,600/tonne in one day, a daily gain of 9.17%; since May it is up RMB 2,000/tonne, or 11.73%.

It is now quoted at RMB 19,050/tonne; Luxi Chemical quotes isobutyraldehyde at RMB 19,100/tonne and is approaching RMB 20,000/tonne.

With raw materials surging, several polyester resin companies have suspended quotations.

Styrene up 8.8% in three days

After the holiday, China's styrene market rose sharply; spot prices

climbed to RMB 10,500/tonne, up RMB 850/tonne from pre-holiday levels, a three-day gain of 8.8%.

PVC market rises strongly; downstream panels lift prices across the board

After the holiday, PVC futures opened higher and rose strongly, guiding the spot market.

On May 6 and 7, prices increased about 2%, up more than 60% year on year; producers generally raised quotes by about RMB 100-200/tonne per day, with most now at RMB 9,000/tonne.

April brought a sharp surge in plastics prices,

with PVC hitting a 10-year high.

After the holiday, the price-increase mode resumed, leaving domestic downstream PVC panel makers struggling; they have issued letters announcing higher prices,

cancelling previous quotations and applying one-order-one-price to all products. For goods not prepaid, delivery will follow the new price.

n-Butanol rises rapidly, up nearly 20% in three days

As of May 8, ex-works n-butanol in Shandong, China,

averaged RMB 15,566/… (source excerpt truncated).