Demand for PMMA has slowed this year

Demand for PMMA has slowed this year

Demand for PMMA, or acrylic, has slowed this year, following a strong performance in 2002. In its 2003 West European Plastics Industry Report, consultancy AMI Plastics says PMMA consumption will increase by 3.8% this year to 272,000 tonnes, compared with market growth of 6.1% in 2002. AMI expects average growth of 2.5% a year to 2007.

West European PMMA producers have seen a squeeze on their margins, due to slackening demand and rising raw material costs. They largely failed to achieve the announced price hikes of E250/tonne this summer and price levels have remained fairly flat in the last 12 months. There is plenty of material available, stocks at converters are high and price competition has intensified. A longer article on PMMA will appear in the December issue of European Plastics News