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These are the views of purchasing consultants from Resin Technology, Inc. (RTi), Fort Worth, Texas (rtiglobal.com), CEO Michael Greenberg of the Plastics Exchange in Chicago (theplasticsexchange.com), and Houston-based PetroChemWire (PCW; petrochemwire.com). PE PRICES UP FOR NOW Polyethylene prices, as had been largely expected, moved up the full 5¢/lb sought by suppliers in February. Suppliers issued a 6¢/lb increase for March, but its chances of implementation were not as clear cut. According to Mike Burns, RTi's v.p. of client services for PE, there were no legitimate drivers behind this second increase. The Plastics Exchange's Greenberg concurred. For one thing, all the planned and unplanned shutdowns of ethylene crackers were resolved by early last month and spot ethylene prices were on the decline. Moreover, crude oil prices still hovered at $52/barrel. In addition, the tight PE market that took place as a result of high export activity in December, coupled with a 80-million-lb supplier inventory drawdown in January, is expected to be reversed. Industry sources agree that first-quarter demand is likely to be less than average—partly a seasonal factor and also due to January prebuying. Burns ventured that supplier inventories would slowly recover—most likely by the end of this month and into May. Burns explained a key point about the current domestic price level: With the 5¢/lb increase in place, North American commodity resin prices averaged 7-10¢/lb higher than in Southeast Asia. All major film processors were "comfortably" passing through the 5¢/lb increase in early March. But if the 6¢/lb increase were to go through, Considering the various factors that contribute to upward pricing of individual resins, it is highly unusual to see all commodity resin prices move up at the same time, and in relatively hefty proportions. But as the first quarter neared its end, that was the case for PE, PP, PS, PVC, PET, ABS, PC, and nylons 6 and 66. Chief factors included higher global prices of hydrocarbons and key feedstocks, which were also affected by planned and unplanned outages that resulted in snug supplies. By early March, there appeared to be potential for at least a bottoming out of prices, if not an eventual reversal in the coming months for at least some of these resins. Indicators included a decline in spot prices of several key feedstocks and a return of more adequate supplies. At the same time, prices could hold firm for some resins, as the early second quarter typically signals the start of strong seasonal demand. Prices Up for All Commodity Resins, Including ABS, PC, Nylons 6, 66 Reversal of some factors driving prices up could change the trajectory in the second or third quarter. By Lilli Manolis Sherman Senior Editor Polyethylene Price Trends HDPE Blow Molding FEB MARCH HDPE Injection FEB MARCH HDPE HMW FEB MARCH LDPE FEB MARCH LLDPE Butene FEB MARCH Market Prices Effective Mid-March 2017 Resin Grade ¢/lb POLYETHYLENE (railcar) LDPE, LINER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90-92 LLDPE BUTENE, FILM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76-78 NYMEX 'FINANCIAL' FUTURES . . . . . . . . . . . . 52 APRIL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52 HDPE, G-P INJECTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92-94 HDPE, BLOW MOLDING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82-84 NYMEX 'FINANCIAL' FUTURES . . . . . . . . . . . . 51.50 APRIL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52 HDPE, HMW FILM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95-97 POLYPROPYLENE (railcar) G-P HOMOPOLYMER, INJECTION . . . . . . . . . . . 76.5-78.5 NYMEX 'FINANCIAL' FUTURES . . . . . . . . . . . . 52.25 APRIL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52.50 IMPACT COPOLYMER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78.5-80.5 POLYST YRENE (railcar) G-P CRYSTAL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101-103 HIPS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107-109 PVC RESIN (railcar) G-P HOMOPOLYMER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81-83 PIPE GR ADE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80-82 PET (TRUCKLOAD) U.S. BOT TLE-GR ADE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58.3 5¢/lb 5¢/lb 5¢/lb 5¢/lb 5¢/lb @plastechmag 77 Plastics Technology YO U R B U S I N E S S YO U R B U S I N E S S Resin Pricing Analy sis