The disproportionately high cost of raw materials and the shortage of some resins is endangering the economic recovery of the plastic packaging industry, warns the Industrievereinigung Kunststoffverpackungen (IK)
The IK trade body says plastic packaging producers have “lost their patience” with the situation, especially with the number of force majeure notifications in recent months. “European jurisprudence defines the term force majeure very narrow,” says the body. “According to this definition the situation has to have an exterior cause, an ‘act of God’.” Companies should not therefore declare force majeure for technical problems not caused by an act of God, it adds. The IK says that for continued cooperation between processors and material providers the industry needs “a far-reaching safe supply chain throughout the raw material industry on top of ensuring stable raw material prices”. Prices have continued to rise over recent months, as demonstrated by European Plastics News’ most recent pricing report. The supply situation is tight across most polymer sectors, although material availability has improved somewhat during the past few weeks. LDPE notations were up by €30/tonne as a result of continuing material shortages with LLDPE grades climbing €20/tonne. Polypropylene prices were €25-30/tonne higher in June, although the monthly C3 contract price remained unchanged. HDPE managed gains of €20/tonne. PVC producers pushed through hikes of €30/tonne to boost their profit margins. Polystyrene prices, on the other hand, fell by €40/tonne following a sharp reduction in styrene monomer costs. Bottle-grade PET was also down on the back of lower feedstock costs.
