LICA is hearing more and more from members about the continuing price increase and availability of plastics products. The situation is impacting drainage, packaging, bottling, medical supplies…….you name it and if plastics is involved a scramble is underway now for product.
After a fairly consistent and predictable market the past few years, a series of unforeseen events has significantly upended the supply of plastic products. There was the dispute between the Mexican government and a dispute regarding natural gas costs led to the Mexican government shutting off the supply of natural gas to a plant literally in the middle of the night, taking its output to zero immediately. This tipped the balance of supply and demand in the Gulf region just enough to stabilize, and even slightly increase PE prices in North America through the remainder of December, which was a surprise to everyone involved according to Reuters. Plastics production took another hit when the deep freeze in Texas put most refineries and reactors large and small on hold as the State’s power grid took weeks to recover. Industry experts see continued strong demand, low inventory levels, and ongoing supply constraints continuing to pressure on the market. For background and understanding of the dynamics causing the disruption in the plastics industry, we suggest this informative podcast from industry experts.
Click here for podcast
After a fairly consistent and predictable market the past few years, a series of unforeseen events has significantly upended the supply of plastic products. There was the dispute between the Mexican government and a dispute regarding natural gas costs led to the Mexican government shutting off the supply of natural gas to a plant literally in the middle of the night, taking its output to zero immediately. This tipped the balance of supply and demand in the Gulf region just enough to stabilize, and even slightly increase PE prices in North America through the remainder of December, which was a surprise to everyone involved according to Reuters. Plastics production took another hit when the deep freeze in Texas put most refineries and reactors large and small on hold as the State’s power grid took weeks to recover. Industry experts see continued strong demand, low inventory levels, and ongoing supply constraints continuing to pressure on the market. For background and understanding of the dynamics causing the disruption in the plastics industry, we suggest this informative podcast from industry experts.
Click here for podcast