The new year started off strong for US exports of polyolefins, with heavy shipments in January 2017 of HDPE, LLDPE, LDPE, polypropylene homopolymer and propylene copolymers.

Comparing January 2017 versus January 2016, exports of all ethylene polymers combined were up 13%, to 492,000 tons; exports of propylene polymers were up 75%, to 226,000 tons. Shipments of nearly all of the polyolefins increased for the second month in a row.

US exports of polypropylene homopolymer hit 149,000 tons, a volume not seen since 2009.

Polyolefin shipments were mainly focused on Mexico, China and Canada, followed by numerous destinations world wide.

From: International Trader Publications’: United States Polymer Trade Report