US expandable PS imports decline

29 September 2008 23:29  [Source: ICIS news]

HOUSTON (ICIS news)--A narrow spread between domestic and imported expandable polystyrene (PS) prices was responsible for a 9% decline in US imports through July compared with the same period of 2007, an importer of offshore beads said on Monday.

In July, prices of imported and domestic beads were almost at parity. Currently, domestic product prices are 7 cents/lb higher than they were in July, according to global chemical market intelligence service ICIS pricing.

At the same time, offshore beads have been going down in price amid softer demand in Asia. North American sales are currently in the range of 94-98 cents/lb ($2,072-2,161/tonne, €1,409-2,118), the importer said.

The US imported 13,290 tonnes of expandable PS in July - a 35% decline compared with 20,524 tonnes imported on the same month of 2007, according to government import data.

The Bahamas, Mexico, Canada and Korea were the top suppliers to the US in July, but among those, only The Bahamas increased volumes compared with the previous month, and that material was earmarked for the production of disposable cups. 

The table below shows a summary of expandable PS import statistics for July 2008 and variations compared with the previous the previous year.

	Jul-07	Jul-08	Jan-Jul 07	Jan-Jul 08	% chg
Total	20,524	13,290	124,193	113,366	-9
Bahamas	5,153	4,582	35,145	32,573	-7
Mexico	5,608	4,089	34,488	32,803	-5
Canada	2,907	1,571	16,859	9,907	-41
Korea	3,882	1,282	22,918	15,477	-32
China	1,437	908	7,012	13,426	91
Indonesia	546	327	2,007	2,051	2
Taiwan	671	277	4,783	5,253	10
Germany	0	100	20	417	1,978
France	0	80	4	160	3,890
Japan	141	76	640	680	6
All others	179	0	316	620	96

Source: USITC. Import volumes are expressed in metric tonnes.

For more on expandable polystyrene visit ICIS chemical intelligence

 

By: George Martin
+1 713 525 2653

< previous article(ICIS Chemical Business podcast November 2, 2009)

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