The volume of ethylene polymers traded globally was up 7% through September 2017, to over 43 million tons of LDPE, LLDPE, HDPE, EVA and Copolymers shipped around the world.

Prominent trends in regional imports through September 2017 included an 18% jump in imports into Asia-Pacific, to over 12 million tons, a 4% rise on imports into Eastern Europe, to over 3 million tons, and declines of 1%-9% on imports of 2-3 million tons each into Western Europe, Africa and Latin America.

Prominent trends in regional exports through September included a 10% increase in shipments out of the Middle East, to nearly 13 million tons, and an 8% gain on exports out of Western Europe, to over 3 million tons.

North America’s exports, however, were down 8%, to 3.6 million tons. There was a strong upward trend visible in the region’s exports in the first quarter of 2017. This dropped off sharply in April and was further depressed by the effects of hurricane Harvey on US shipments in August and September. US exports picked up in October and further increases are likely for the rest of the year.

From: International Trader Publications’ new: All Polymers of Ethylene World Trade Report – a continuously updated on line analysis of trade flows between countries and regions based on statistics from over 80 countries.