Quarterly Update on Global LLDPE Market

For the Quarter Ending September 2020

 

·         Asia

 

The Asian LLDPE market got hampered despite gradual pick up in the economy in the third quarter. The Southeast Asian plant capacities which were anticipated to come onstream by the second half of 2020 had to delay operations to 2021 due to economic fallout and overflowing inventories in China. While the plant deadlines seemed extended, demand outlook turned in favor owing to greater consumption by the food packaging sectors. Regional demand from the food packaging sector has risen almost around 15% from the last year’s as a greater population stayed at home this quarter. Players expressed concerns regarding overall production of Polyethylene in Southeast Asia post September due to major cracker turnarounds scheduled on cards.

 

·         North America

 

North America stands behind Asia in terms of Polyethylene capacities. Supply remained tightened throughout July-Sep quarter with a number of planned and unplanned ethylene cracker outages as a large part of the region remained impacted with Hurricane Laura, which disrupted operations at several LLDPE plants, thereby restricting the availability of the product for longer than expected. LLDPE offers were raised substantially during the quarter with limited export activity and additional increases expected in the next two months. However, increasing competition between different grades and sellers is likely to put a cap on the LLDPE pricing in the region.

ChemAnalyst addresses the key problematic areas and risks associated with chemical and petrochemical business globally and enables the decision-maker to make smart choices. It identifies and analyses factors such as geopolitical risks, environmental risks, raw material availability, supply chain functionality, disruption in technology and so on. It targets market volatility and ensures clients navigate through challenges and pitfalls in an efficient and agile manner. Timeliness and accuracy of data has been the core competency of Chemanalyst, benefitting domestic as well as global industry in tuning in to the real-time data points to execute multi-billion-dollar projects globally.

Market Analysis

 

Company-wise installed capacity, production volume and plant operating efficiency is captured directly from manufacturers. Import and Export volume is captured from government sources and demand for LLDPE is calculated considering the production, import, export and inventory-levels on the country and regional level markets.

 

Pricing Analysis

 

LLDPE price is correlated with the price trend of crude oil and ethylene, demand-supply fundamentals.

 

Company Profile

 

Basic details and information on financial performance of leading global players in the LLDPE market is presented in a visually captivating manner. Expansion plans and the company’s strategy is also captured to understand the vision and mission of the company to help understand the areas where companies need to focus more.

 

News & Deals

 

Daily updates on industry-specific and product-specific news, exclusive primary-based news capturing plant shutdowns/outages/closures, capacity expansions, operating rates, insights on demand-supply situation, awarding of technology licenses, new product launch and deals specifying mergers and acquisitions, strategic investments and disinvestments, to help players capitalize on market opportunity.

ChemAnalyst gathers information through primary research surveys conducted with various LLDPE manufacturers, spread across the domestic and international market, suppliers and dealers/distributors to gain insights into value-chains and demand-supply scenario to assess the market situation. Thorough study of company’s annual reports and secondary sources such as exhaustive search on credible paid databases, including our internal database is done to verify the information. All the collected information is analyzed, evaluated and presented in chronological order to depict a meaningful and clear picture of the concerned market.

 

Our dedicated team of industry experts comprehensively monitors and analyzes various aspects of the Global LLDPE market. The team analyzes various industrial segments, strategic viewpoints and provides an analysis of the industry’s performance in the long run. This would enable our clients in efficiently plan their future investments, mitigate risk, understand the cost dynamics and strike out a balance amidst market volatility.

 

Critical examination of the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on the global supply chains and shift in demand patterns with change in buying behavior of consumers across the globe.

 

Several ongoing development projects across industries are tracked, followed by the details of major projects in the development stage, which can positively or negatively influence Global LLDPE market.

 

Pricing is captured through exhaustive primary interviews with domestic and international manufacturers, traders and importers and customers on daily, weekly, monthly and yearly basis.

 

Finally, region-specific markets for LLDPE are analyzed and region-wise demand pattern is tracked.

Linear low-density polyethylene (LLDPE) is versatile and cost-effective thermoplastic polymer possessing excellent mechanical characteristics finding usage in high performance applications requiring higher tensile strength and superior impact and puncture resistance.  LLDPE is produced by the co-polymerisation of Ethylene with alpha-olefins - butene, hexene or octene to yield a resin possessing similar density to LDPE. Around 80% of the LLDPE produced globally goes into film extrusion applications such as food and non-food packaging, shrink/stretch films and rotational molding application for water tanks, industrial containers, toys etc. The main technologies suitable for LLDPE production include slurry, solution and gas-phase processes. The gas-phase process dominates the global LLDPE production. Addition of metallocene catalysts has enabled the production of LLDPE resins with better molecular weight distribution, improved physical characteristics and better processibility.