Make sense of business cash costs and cash margins
The ICIS weekly Margin Reports deliver the detail you need to understand how production costs and prices are affecting variable margins, enabling you to assess the impact on your business and to optimise your upstream and downstream decisions.
The reports are designed to complement ICIS trusted pricing data. Combining ICIS benchmark price assessments with feedstock yield models from Linde Engineering, the reports provide a clear indication of the direction of business cash costs and cash margins, forming a basis for informed market positioning by sellers, buyers and traders.
The newly enhanced ICIS Margin Reports bring all margin-related information into a single report in an Excel sheet format. Combined with relevant price history series,which is also available via the ICIS dashboard, this will allow you to manipulate our data more easily than was previously possible.
You can chart your own choice of margin comparisons, in your own choice of format, and input our data directly into your own systems. If you’re a producer, you may consider adjusting our assessed prices, calculated costs and margin values derived from our generic margin models to your own situation.
Alternatively, you may simply refer to the short-term charts and tables that are provided in a readily printable format.
Ethylene Margin reports for Asia, China, Europe and US
Polyethylene Margin Reports for Asia, China, Europe and US
Polypropylene Margin Reports for Asia, China, Europe and US
Ethylene Glycol Margin Reports for Asia, Europe and US
Styrene Margin Reports for Asia, Europe and US
Polystyrene Margin Reports for Asia, Europe and US
The ICIS margin calculation is not simply a difference between the feedstock price and the product price. Our margin calculation takes into account of the amount of feedstock required per tonne of final product, the value of any coproducts along the production chain and the variable costs of manufacturing processes.
In our models, we combine ICIS’ trusted price assessments with product yield and energy balance data provided by leading chemical engineering contractor Linde Engineering.
We have chosen not to model beyond feedstock costs and key variable manufacturing costs, as the inclusion of any fixed costs would cease to be generic. This results in what is termed a variable margin or contribution.
“ICIS Polyethylene Margin report provides concise commentary and useful data tables and charts, giving a clear indication of what’s happening in the polymers market. The precise and regularly updated measurement of producer cash costs and cash margins allow us to track the market movements and is useful in our negotiations with suppliers..”
Unilever Asia Private Ltd
Mr. Changsheng Wu, Global Procurement Director – Flexibles