Polycarbonate markets in the USA moved little into early February 2026, with prices largely flat week-on-week as January closed. January itself posted a month-on-month decline, reflecting softening through the quarter. Early activity was calm, mid-January saw a light pullback, with late January stabilizing as inventories were evaluated. Market participants described balanced supply and demand fundamentals and an absence of material disruptions, setting a quiet tone for February. End-user demand was mixed across sectors, with technology and automotive applications showing pockets of resilience where tight specification grades remain prioritized, while other segments were more restrained. Packaging and commodity moulding demand softened relative to earlier in the quarter, contributing to the monthly decline. On the supply side, logistics remained uninterrupted and inventories steady, with input costs and upstream conditions largely unchanged and no plant outages reported.
Polycarbonate prices in the USA showed little movement into early February 2026, remaining flat on a week-on-week basis as the market transitioned out of January trading. January itself registered a modest month-on-month decline, with overall levels down by 0.9% for the month, reflecting a gradual, multi-week softening. Early January trading was calm, mid-January saw a small pullback, and late-January stabilized as buyers and sellers assessed inventory positions. Polycarbonate market participants noted balanced supply–demand fundamentals and an absence of material disruptions, setting the scene for a quiet start to February.
End-user demand patterns were mixed across Polycarbonate market during January 2026. Demand appeared generally steady, with pockets of resilience reported in technology and automotive applications where tight specification grades continue to be prioritized, while other segments showed more restrained procurement. Packaging and commodity moulding demand softened relative to earlier in the quarter, contributing to the month’s overall Polycarbonate price decline. These sector dynamics contrasted with earlier seasonal expectations and helped extend a multi-week bearish trend in the underlying Polycarbonate market.
On the supply side, the Polycarbonate market benefited from uninterrupted logistics and broadly steady inventory levels through the month. Input costs and upstream conditions were largely unchanged in mid-January, which limited upside pressure on spot trading. There was no significant plant outages reported in the period to tighten nearby availability, and distribution channels operated without notable bottlenecks. Rising energy or feedstock pressures did not feature materially in January’s Polycarbonate price moves, leaving manufacturers and converters to trade against a backdrop of balanced flows and measured buying interest.
Weekly Polycarbonate price movement through late January illustrated this pattern, prices held steady in the opening weeks, eased modestly in the third week of the month, and then flattened as month-end approached. Per weekly assessment data, the early-February reading stable week-on-week change, signalling short-term equilibrium between bids and offers. The cumulative effect was an ongoing 12-week bearish trend that moderated late-month volatility, with participants describing trading as range-bound rather than directionally driven.
As per ChemAnalyst, the immediate outlook is cautiously neutral for Polycarbonate market. With balanced supply–demand, unchanged input costs and no acute logistical disruptions, upside catalysts are limited in the near term, while persistent, albeit small, headwinds could maintain pressure on pricing. Seasonal demand patterns and any abrupt shifts in feedstock or energy costs would be the most likely triggers for renewed movement. Any forward projections are based on current market trends and remain subject to Polycarbonate downstream market conditions and customer restocking behaviour.
