The US Ethylene Vinyl Acetate (EVA) market stepped into May with a status quo and no change in pace. The prices were the same for a second consecutive week as ample supply, cheaper costs, and tariff jitters kept buyers and sellers on the sidelines. Domestic producers cycled between EVA and low-density polyethylene (LDPE) to meet modest order books, enabling producers to maintain inventories at ease without reducing rates.

First-quarter figures indicated U.S. EVA exports declined 14% and imports declined 17% year over year, highlighting the small stream of new spot parcels. Additionally, the feedstock pressure relaxed in recent weeks. April U.S. Gulf ethylene contracts decreased, and mid-May spot values fell due to enhanced cracker availability, providing EVA makers with a minimal cost buffer. North American acetic acid assessments in May were at the same levels as in April eliminating any validation for EVA prices to increase.

Looking at the supply side of EVA, weather at the Houston Ship Channel was unproblematic, but Port Houston increased reefer-container dwell charges on 15 May, leading exporters to add a day or two of added buffer to sailing timetables. Ocean freight provided conflicting signals as Asia-US West Coast and East Coast spot rates increased by 3% for the 20 May week, still well below pandemic highs but sufficient to deter opportunistic imports. A few market participants reported that a temporary tariff ceasefire with China buoyed short-lived May bookings and pushed quotes on the West Coast higher.

Film and bag converters are purchased purely "hand-to-mouth," aided by sufficient substitute imports and knife-thin conversion margins. In the downstream footwear sector, 78% of American consumers who shopped this year walked away from a shoe purchase, according to sources as price-sensitive consumers responded to more expensive tariffs—another wind opposing EVA foam demand.

The solar industry is EVA's brightest spot, but even there the momentum has slowed. The EIA projects new U.S. solar capacity additions to fall to around 26 GW in 2025 after 37 GW in 2024, a record. A House bill aimed at reducing Inflation Reduction Act tax credits has introduced new uncertainty, with SEIA threatening cuts to factory investment and employment. Developers indicate module-permitting and grid-tie delay may slow EVA-film pull through late Q3. Nevertheless, worldwide projections continue to demonstrate strong long-term photovoltaic module and agricultural growth for EVA films.

President Trump's across-the-board 10 % starting tariff on all imports starting 5 April continued to obscure procurement planning; economic models indicate the measures will raise the average effective tariff rate to its highest since 1941. Retailers and brands are passing tariff-driven cost hikes across several regions instead of raising U.S. prices alone, a strategy central bankers caution could transmit inflation overseas.

Looking ahead, with supply balanced and demand merely steady, the ChemAnalyst database foresees EVA prices to stay flat or drift narrowly through June. Producers appear comfortable banking recent feedstock savings to protect margins, while buyers will likely keep volumes lean until tariff negotiations clear and downstream orders firm. Any upside before Q4 is anticipated to depend on a rebound in footwear spending, lifting of solar-project bottlenecks, or a meaningful slide in ocean freight—all variables that, for now, remain stubbornly range-bound.