PVC Polymer Situation: The 11th Consecutive Increase is Looming

A situation that has become frankly paradoxical , in which experts see the upward trend in PVC prices extending into the second quarter of the year.

We are talking about the eleventh consecutive increase which is throwing producers of compounds, finished products and the components supply chain into panic.

The reasons that led to this situation are articulated and, at the same time, linked together as we have already been able to report in the articles that you can read at the bottom, on the global trend of raw materials.

The problem is not only the unbearable level of prices for raw material transformers, who have difficulty in respecting the contracts made, but also the lack of continuous and sufficient supplies to support production.

Given a high order backlog, some production plants are being stopped due to the impossibility of receiving the raw material on time.

We must also consider that the approach of the milder season in Europe normally corresponds to a recovery in activity in the construction and agricultural sectors, in which the demand for PVC products becomes robust.

To respond to the requests of customers who purchase PVC products, both the finished products warehouse, set up in the months preceding spring, when the level of orders is usually lower than production, and daily production are normally involved.

This situation did not occur in the winter months, as producers' stocks are generally low or non-existent and daily production suffers from sub-optimal raw material inputs.

Some operators, especially in the pipe sector, have declared that they are evaluating whether to suspend the production of PVC pipes in favor of HDPE so as not to lose turnover at such an important moment.

It must also be considered that what negatively affects the production of PVC products and compounds is not only the now chronic shortage of the raw material, but also that linked to the additives that are necessary for production.

One of these is the plasticizer which, being in short supply on the market just like the raw material to which it must be bound, prevents the regular carrying out of production activities.

Category: news - plastic - circular economy - waste - PVC