It was a challenging year for the world’s largest volume exporter of most grades of polyethylene and polypropylene. Weak demand in Asia-Pacific and competition from North America and Asia-Pacific resulted in a drop in Middle East exports of LPDE, EVA, polypropylene homopolymer and propylene copolymers versus the prior year, and, shifts in regional destinations.
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Brazil was a Commodity Polymer Import Powerhouse in 2024
Imports of nearly all grades of polyethylene, polypropylene, styrenic polymers, PVC and PET were up sharply versus 2023, many grades setting new records. Brazil’s imports of fabricated plastic products also surged to new highs.
Continue readingLatin America’s Commodity Polymer Trade in 2024
Latin America’s trade in commodity polymers in 2024 was characterized by sizable exports of HDPE, polypropylene homopolymer (PP) and uncompounded PVC (PVCU). Latin America was a growth import market for each of the commodity polymers, noting especially both large volumes and large percentage increases on linear/ethylene-alpha-olefin-copolymers (LL/EAOC), HDPE, PP, and PVCU. This series of blogs quantifies imports and exports of the major commodity polymers – LDPE, LL/EAOC, HDPE, EVA, PP, PRC, polystyrene and PVCU – allowing comparisons across the polymers for the geographic regions of Western Europe, Eastern Europe, Africa, North America, Latin America, Middle East and Asia-Pacific.
Continue readingNorth America’s Commodity Polymer Trade in 2024
North America’s trade in commodity polymers in 2024 was characterized by large volume exports of polyethylene, polypropylene, and PVC, and relatively small imports. This series of blogs quantifies imports and exports in 2024 of the major commodity polymers – LDPE, linear/ethylene-alpha-olefin copolymers (LL/EAOC), HDPE, EVA, PP, propylene copolymers (PRC), polystyrene, and PVC – allowing comparisons across the polymers for the geographic regions of Western Europe, Eastern Europe, Africa, North America, Latin America, Middle East, and Asia-Pacific.
Continue readingAfrica’s Commodity Polymer Trade in 2024
Africa’s trade in commodity polymers in 2024 was characterized by relatively small volume exports of HDPE, polypropylene, and PVC. Imports of each of these polymers were substantial and posted gains versus the prior year. This series of blogs quantifies imports and exports in 2024 of the major commodity polymers – LDPE, linear/ethylene-alpha-olefin copolymers (LL/EAOC), HDPE, EVA, PP, propylene copolymers (PRC), polystyrene, and PVC – allowing comparisons across the polymers for the geographic regions of Western Europe, Eastern Europe, Africa, North America, Latin America, Middle East, and Asia-Pacific.
Continue readingEastern Europe’s Commodity Polymer Trade in 2024
Eastern Europe’s trade in commodity polymers in 2024 was characterized by sizable exports of HDPE and polypropylene homopolymer (PP) and the largest volume imports of any region with the exception of Asia-Pacific (and Latin America, for polyethylene). This series of blogs quantifies imports and exports in 2024 of the major commodity polymers – LDPE, linear/ethylene-alpha-olefin copolymers (LL/EAOC), HDPE, EVA, PP, propylene copolymers (PRC), polystyrene, and PVC – allowing comparisons across the polymers for the geographic regions of Western Europe, Eastern Europe, Africa, North America, Latin America, Middle East, and Asia-Pacific.
Continue readingWestern Europe’s Commodity Polymer Trade in 2024
Weak demand, competition in export markets and imports from other regions were reflected in Western Europe’s trade in polyethylene, polypropylene, polystyrene and PVC in 2024.This series of blogs quantifies each region’s imports and exports in 2024 of the major commodity polymers – LDPE, linear/ethylene-alpha-olefin copolymers (LL/EAOC), HDPE, EVA, PP, propylene copolymers (PRC), polystyrene and PVC – allowing comparisons across the polymers for the geographic regions of Western Europe, Eastern Europe, Africa, North America, Latin America, Middle East and Asia-Pacific.
Continue readingTrends in Polyolefin Polymer Trade in Western Europe in 2023
Polyolefin polymer demand in Western Europe in 2023 is measurable in part from the region’s intra-regional trade, its imports from other regions, and its exports to other regions. Lower intra-regional trade and lower imports indicate a drop in demand from one year to the next. These were evident in 2023 versus 2022 for LDPE, linear PE, HDPE, and PP homopolymer. Lower polymer demand in a region is also usually associated with an increase in a region’s exports, if conditions make this possible. Western Europe’s exports of HDPE did increase in 2023, but shipments of other polymers were constrained by low demand in other regions and surging exports from North America.
Continue readingTrends in Recyclable Polyethylene in 2023
Global trade volume in recyclable polyethylene polymer in 2023 dropped 2% from 2022, to 3.0 million tons, indicating weaker global demand. Key trends included lower intra-regional trade in Western Europe and Asia-Pacific, lower imports into Western Europe and a surge in imports into Asia-Pacific on material sourced mainly from Western Europe and North America. Average prices steadied in the second half of 2023 at low levels.
Continue readingTrends in China’s Trade in Commodity Polymers in 2023
China’s imports of commodity polymers as a total of all grades of PE, PP, styrenics, PVC and PET, declined for the third year in a row, a loss of nearly 10 million tons of volume over the 2020-2023 period. Exports of the combined total climbed for the third year in a row, increasing by nearly 7 million tons. Shipments of manufactured products identifiable as plastic showed a small gain of 0.7 million tons in 2023, rising to 16.7 million tons.
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