Resin To Riches: Weekly Plastic Market Insights

Polymer Global Analysis

Resin To Riches: Weekly Plastic Market Insights

• General Thoughts: China’s rapid polyethylene expansions threaten to displace Asian exports, pressure European margins, and erode US market share—reshaping global petrochemical trade and intensifying price competition.
• Polyethylene (PE): US spot PE faces steep pressure as export tariffs, falling feedstock costs, and weak demand collide—threatening inventory build-ups and undermining any proposed price hikes amid global market fragility.
• Polypropylene (PP): Western spot PP markets slide on weak demand, falling costs, and tariff concerns, while Asia shows relative resilience—China’s rising capacity in PP also poses a significant risk to global markets in 2025.
• Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC): Global PVC markets faced renewed pressure in early 2Q as tariffs disrupted trade, and most markets are well-supplied. We take a constructive view of Westlake due to its building product integration.
• Other Sector Developments: Sharp declines in US ethylene and propylene spot prices relative to NGL values are pinching US margins. Ex-US feedstocks are broadly falling, suggesting broader olefin-chain price pressure ahead.

Exhibit 1 – Chart of the Day: Chinese import tariffs on US polyethylene favor its ongoing polyethylene expansions. 

Source: Bloomberg, Company Reports, C-MACC Analysis, April 2025