Global Polymers Market Update: Weather We Should Hold More Inventory – Seems So!

Companies Mentioned: Enterprise Products, ExxonMobil, LyondellBasell, SABIC, Borealis, Formosa Plastics, Braskem, Chevron Phillips Chemical, Nova Chemicals, Dow, Occidental, Westlake, Shin-Etsu, Orbio, Sinopec, PureCycle, Eastman, RES, Freepoint Eco-Systems, Neste, BlueAlp, TotalEnergies, LG Chem, Indorama Ventures, SK Geo Centric, Shell, PTT Global Chemical, SCG Chemical, Mitsubishi Chemical, FedEx, Packaging Corp, Green Bay Packaging
Commodities Mentioned: PGP, PP, PE, PVC, Ethylene, Natural Gas, Chlor-Alkali, Crude Oil, LNG, Ethane, Naphtha, EVs, Polypropylene, Plastic Waste, Polystyrene, Carbon, Carbon Dioxide, Hydrogen, Renewable Fuels, PET, PS, HDPE, LDPE

Key Findings

General Thoughts: US spot polymer prices, on average, have increased from mid-2Q24 lows amid a mixture of production and logistic issues and efforts to stock inventory as some anticipate a record US hurricane season.
Supply Chain/Commodities: We discuss US spot PGP price strength in June as production issues persist, US polymer export market support, and why we see US polymer price weakness ahead absent sizable outages.
Energy/Upstream: We highlight YTD price support and less volatility in Ex-US naphtha prices relative to crude oil and falling US ethane values relative to US natural gas, which benefits North American ethylene producers.
Recycled/Renewable Polymers: We discuss circular product initiatives at several plastic producers, each with initiatives underway in advanced recycling, and highlight the different chemical recycling technologies.
Downstream/Other Chemicals: We discuss the May CPI postings for the US and China, following our research from yesterday, and discuss the greater packaging market drivers of global PE demand relative to PP and PVC.