Isobutyraldehyde prices witness fall in November 2025, for US import market by 13.19%, compared to October prices. Price declines were attributed to the availability of competitively priced imports from Germany, the Netherlands and South Korea and the growing volume of Gulf Coast spot cargoes resulting. A strong U.S. dollar with lower shipping costs coming from Antwerp to Houston resulted in cost savings to customers. The reduction in propylene contract prices in Europe and Asia opened the door to greater competition for exporters' margins. Demand for Isobutyraldehyde was sluggish because of reduced use of coatings, the lubricant additive market, increased use of neopentyl glycol, and a reduction in isobutanol usage because of increased credit costs, declining homebuilding starts, and flat sales schedules for some vehicle models.
Price averages for isobutyraldehyde CFR Texas for November 2025 decreased by 13.19% month-on-month as compared to October. The bearish trend was largely driven by an influx of imported products, softer propylene contracts, and lower shipping costs. Additionally, the oversupply has kept prices declining without a weekly uptick as the oversupply outweighed the lack of demand.
November 2025 was a slow month for isobutyraldehyde demand within the U.S., as many buyers of downstream products like neopentyl glycol and Isobutanol were cautious about their order flow because of the contracting housing industry. The automotive assembly industry cooled down, thus affecting demand for lubricants and performance additive intermediates. Isobutyraldehyde buyers in many cases were not placing new orders and were using existing inventories through the end of the year. Mexican and Canadian buyers have made marginal inquiries, but those were not enough to offset the domestic drop-off in demand. Supply levels were sufficient for continued delivery of isobutyraldehyde from the European (Germany/Netherlands) and Asian (South Korea/Japan) producers because these producers were operating without substantial challenges or breaks following the turnaround of their crackers. Furthermore, most of the refineries that make propylene in Europe continue to run normally with no unplanned outages. The Northwest Europe inventory levels were sufficient, allowing the release and redistribution of isobutyraldehyde into the North Atlantic basin at a time when the freight cost between Northwest Europe and Houston was lower than in previous months. In addition, distribution of isobutyraldehyde in the U.S. remains fluid with predictable delivery of the product satisfying demand in a low-offtake, import-driven market on the Gulf Coast.
As per ChemAnalyst, the demand for isobutyraldehyde in the U.S is expected to remain steady through December 2025 due to both surplus supplies coming in through imports, and low buying activity due to the current global state of the economy, as well as the absence of either macroeconomic catalyst or less seasonally driven buying activity being experienced. The areas to specifically monitor are isobutyraldehyde shipping & delivery rates, as well as indicators relating to housing and automobiles.
