Tag Archives: polystyrene

Iran exports huge volumes of several polymers and chemicals; imports of numerous products also large

Iran is among the world’s top exporters of ethylene glycol, methanol, para-xylene, LDPE, HDPE, polypropylene and styrene.  Continue reading

Expanded global trade volume in 2014, indicating demand growth, projected for benzene, EDC, polyacetals, polycarbonates, PET, ethylene copolymers, EVA, DEG and PMMA

An increase in the amount of material being traded globally generally indicates an increase in demand. ITP currently projects global trade volume to be up 4% to 10% in 2014 from 2013 for a number of heavily traded polymers and chemicals. Continue reading

Global Polystyrene Trade Contracts in 2013; Strong Expansion in Styrene Monomer Trade

Global trade in both non-expandable (general purpose) polystyrene and expandable polystyrene contracted by 3% in 2013, noting declines also in 2012. ITP measured 3.5 million tons of PSN trade and 2.1 million tons of PSX. Styrene monomer trade grew 7%, to 10.9 million tons. Trends in global trade volume for widely traded products are an indicator of global demand. Continue reading

China’s Imports Continue to Surprise

Despite worries to the contrary, China’s imports in the first half of 2012 were up sharply versus the prior year for a number of chemicals and polymers.  Continue reading

China’s Scrap Polymer Imports are Large and Growing

Imports into China of scrap and waste commodity polymers are large, growing, and should be considered along with imports of virgin polymer in analyzing China’s demand. Continue reading

Trends in Styrenics Trade in 2011 – Preliminary

Preliminary overview of styrenics trade in 2011: lower global trade volume in ABS, SAN, non-expandable polystyrene and styrene; moderately higher expandable polystyrene volume; much higher Asia-Pacific exports of polystyrene and SAN to Western Europe and Eastern Europe. Continue reading

New Perspective on China’s Polymer Trade

In 2011, China will import approximately 18 million tons of virgin commodity polymers, plus 8 million tons of scrap and waste polymer. China will export 3 million tons of virgin commodity polymers and more than 3.5 million tons of specific fabricated plastics products identified by polymer, plus 2.5 million tons of fabricated product groups of mixed polymers. These important trade flows are covered in a new report. Continue reading