Global polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) production and demand are driven by Asia, where operating capacities total around 497,000 tonnes/year, compared with approximately 115,000 tonnes/year in Europe.
Demand for PMMA resins and extruded sheet product in Europe has been steady to soft since the second half of 2011, as buying interest from the automotive and construction industries has weakened amid poor macroeconomic conditions.
Offtake from the construction sector is lacklustre, as a result of European government restrictions on spending because of deficit reduction programmes.
The cost of feedstocks methyl methacrylate (MMA) and acetone are likely to influence pricing in the second quarter of 2013, along with supply and demand dynamics.
Margins are being squeezed as prices have been on a downtrend since the second quarter of 2012. Demand from the construction sector is expected to pick up in March and April, and that is likely to support attempts at price rises in the upstream MMA market, as are ongoing high upstream costs for acetone, propylene and methanol.
PMMA producers are looking to regain margins. However, potential increases are likely to be tempered by lacklustre demand.
Updated to mid-February 2013