US Polycarbonate Market Remains Firm in the Early Q2 2022 Assessment

Mirroring the market sentiment of other polymers and engineering plastics in the USA, the Polycarbonate market has been steady with the prices being robust in the beginning of the second quarter. Polycarbonate prices have been gaining on the back of stable demand dynamics from downstream industries and healthy cost pressure from feedstocks.

As of the week ending 8th April 2022, Polycarbonate prices in the USA were assessed at USD 3940 per MT on DDP basis for General Purpose (GP) grade.

USA relies heavily on Bisphenol A imports from Asia to produce Polycarbonate and the recent European conflict between Russia and Ukraine has pressured the global supply chains. Freight charges and shipping costs on several key routes have observed a significant spike in the wake of ongoing crisis in the Black Sea region. As of the first week of April, Freight charges from Asia to North American West Coast have been assessed at USD 15817 per FEU, which is more than 167% from the same time a year ago.

Meanwhile, demand dynamics have been stable in both domestic and international markets. The US majorly exports Polycarbonate to neighbouring Mexico and South Asia, including China, India, Singapore, and others. However, the resurgence of covid cases in China has curtailed the normal undertaking of trading activities and hampered the import and export of the commodities at Chinese ports.

USA has exported a total of 21,446 MT to Mexico, while China received a cumulative of 12,986 MT from the US during the first two months of the first quarter, as per the trade data of the International Trade Centre (ITC). There have been speculations that imports reaching Chinese shores during the last month of the first quarter may fall in the backdrop of transportation and logistics issues in the Chinese ports of Yantian and Shanghai in March.

As per ChemAnalyst, “Polycarbonate market is expected to remain firm in the coming weeks due to stable demand from downstream automotive & transportation and construction industry. Bisphenol A prices in China have rebounded in early April, which meant import prices are likely to be strong to the US.”