US Cocamidopropyl Betaine CFR Houston values rose in March as steady downstream demand and higher logistics costs lifted landed quotes. Promotional stocking by major personal-care brands supported consistent purchasing from blenders, while mid-month substitution into home- and institutional-cleaning formulations added incremental demand. Exporting plants in eastern China and western India operated normally, and US port operations in Houston remained smooth, so the price rise was driven more by higher voyage and FOB offers than by supply outages. A range-bound CNY/USD kept currency-induced volatility muted, keeping the rally focused on landed-cost factors and procurement cycles. Demand patterns were mixed across end users but broadly supportive, underpinning the March increase as personal-care and skin-care stayed the primary engines: liquid hand soaps, shampoos, and other skin-care formulations sustained moderate buying. Oil-field chemicals remained soft, while home-care and industrial-cleaning formulators continued substituting into mild-alkaline blends. Near term, expect a softer pace of gains with ongoing freight-cost risk and potential restocking into late spring.
