Half of the world’s polyethylene comes from the Middle East and some of it is on the estimated, according to Al Jezeera, 2000 vessels still stuck in the Strait of Hormuz,

Even when the Strait opens, trade flows will continue to be impacted because of structural damage to energy and production facilities that will, according to Syntex, take years to repair.

Global re-routing of trade flows was visible in the new high on US exports of linear polyethylene in March (below), partly on increased flows to Europe and Turkey, among others.

Other changes in PE trade in March, among many: record PE exports out of China; sharply lower exports out of Korea and Thailand; a sharp drop in imports into Pakistan.

From International Trader Publications’ World Trade Analyses of all grades of polyethylene, continuously updated based on latest statistics from all available countries.