Plasticizers Price Trend and Forecast

Plasticizers Regional Price Overview

Get the latest insights on price movement and trend analysis of Plasticizers in different regions across the world (Asia, Europe, North America, Latin America, and the Middle East & Africa).

Plasticizers Price Trend for the First Half of 2023

Plasticizers are added to polymer materials, most often plastics and rubbers, to change their physical characteristics. These ingredients are used to increase the polymer's flexibility, workability, and durability, making it better suited for a variety of industrial applications. Plasticizers make materials more malleable and less brittle by lowering the intermolecular tensions between polymer chains, which lowers the glass transition temperature. In addition to improving the flexibility and elasticity of materials, plasticizers are essential in products like PVC pipes, cables, and vinyl flooring.
 

Plasticizers Price Chart

Please Login or Subscribe to Access the Plasticizers Price Chart Data
 

In the first and second quarters of 2023, it was observed that the US markets of plasticizers suffered from persistently poor end-market demand. The customer demand did not help in inventory destocking, and the weak performance of building and construction and other industrial sectors negatively affected the sales of plasticizers. Additionally, the cost of feedstock materials also witnessed a downward journey that eventually kept the price trend of plasticizers and their derivatives in the negative zone.

Analyst Insight

According to Procurement Resource, the price of Plasticizers is expected to mirror the market trend observed in PVC, vinyl flooring, and related industries, which themselves seem to be struggling due to the poor purchasing appetite of consumers.
 

Plasticizers Price Trend for the Second Half of 2022

Asia Pacific

As the plasticizers’ inventory continued to stockpile, due to the pandemic-related shutdowns in China, the prices of the commodity saw a gradual decline. A significant drop was observed in the month of July. Later rising energy costs, growing restrictions, low product supply, and poor operating rates amidst lowering demand led to a downfall in the prices in the third quarter.

The fourth quarter was also not favourable for the prices as the inventories continued to rise along with major fluctuations in the feedstock prices. This all-in addition to a decline in the demand from Chinese exporters followed a decline in the prices of the commodity.

Europe

The European markets witnessed a major decline in demand and prices of plasticizers in the third quarter of 2022. The uncertain market and slow end-user-industry offtakes caused a major decline in the price trend. The region saw a significant disruption in the supply-demand equilibrium during the second half of the third quarter and throughout the fourth quarter. In the second half of the fourth quarter, the prices increased slightly as a result of a rise in production and energy costs. The demand also saw a surge from the downstream industries and thus, the quarter showcased mixed sentiments towards the prices of the commodity.

North America

Due to dwindling consumer confidence, the North American market for plasticizers varied in the third quarter. The market showcased unfavourable conditions and delayed offtakes from the downstream industries leading to the decline in the prices of the commodity.

The local demand was weak, but some manufacturers stocked up ample inventory in advance due to indications of severe weather alerts which led to an overflow in stock volume during the third quarter. A shift in feedstock prices, consumer outlook, inflationary pressure, and fluctuating currency value led to mixed sentiments in the price trend shown by the fourth quarter. The second half of the quarter witnessed a surge in inventories with a noticeable drop in orders which kept the market on a negative growth side.

Analyst Insight

The prices of Plasticizers are likely to remain volatile during the coming month given the continuous shift in feedstock prices, fluctuating offtakes, and stabilizing demand from the end-user industries.
 

Plasticizers Price Trend For the First Half of 2022

Asia

The price trend for plasticizers showed an upwards trend in the the Asia-Pacific region during the first quarter owing to the domestic polymer segment's increased demand for the product as a result of better offtakes from China’s construction sector. In India, the price of dioctyl phthalate ( a commonly used plasticizer) averaged 1681 USD/MT CFR JNPT during the first quarter. The prices saw an increase of 5% during the second quarter in India due to the strong demand from construction and automobile sectors.

Europe

Due to increased local and international demand, plasticizers prices in Europe increased. The petrochemicals market was impacted by the post-war situation in east-Europe, severe inflation, and crude oil supply limitations, which led to a substantial increase in the price of feedstocks.After the midpoint of the first quarter, product prices gradually increased until June. The construction and automotive industries downstream experienced steady demand during the period.

North America

Plasticizers prices rose sharply in Q1 2022 as a result of the sharp rise in crude oil prices and improved downstream demand. The price of dioctyl phthalate averaged 1875 USD/MT towards the end of first sector.

The increase in upstream value prices and the strengthening domestic market demand were the main factors influencing this price shift.  During the second quarter, plasticizers’ demand from the automotive and construction industries remained stable, hence the price trend for plasticizers stayed stable during the second quarter of 2022.

Procurement Resource provides latest prices of Plasticizers. Each price database is tied to a user-friendly graphing tool dating back to 2014, which provides a range of functionalities: configuration of price series over user defined time period; comparison of product movements across countries; customisation of price currencies and unit; extraction of price data as excel files to be used offline.