Polystyrene prices were up 20% due to a chronic shortage of benzene

Plastics converters were forced to pay higher prices for material during the summer.

Polymer producers – faced with steeply rising raw material costs and limited availability – pushed through significant price increases with little resistance. Many adopted a “take it or leave it” approach.

The highest price rises were seen in polystyrene, due to a chronic shortage of they key precursor benzene. This had led to a doubling in PS prices so far this year, with hikes of at least 20% since June.

In the same period, a large number of plant outages has caused a shortage of polyolefins, resulting in price rises of more than 10%. A similar situation affects the PVC sector, though rises are a more modest 5%. PET, however, has bucked the trend with prices softening as a result of slow demand.

It seems that prices will continue to rise, as production issues will restrain availability and feedstock costs will continue to increase.