Polystyrene Market Update in North America, July 23, 2007

24-Jul-07

Volume: Average Price: Steady The Polystyrene market held mostly steady this week. We saw several good offgrade railcars for each HIPS and GPPS in the lower $.70s/lb. There were a few Generic Prime railcars offered, priced a couple cents higher. A few resellers also had warehoused resin looking for a home. We also came across surplus EPS, including loads of T, B and C beads. Producers are being careful to maintain a snug spot market to protect against any price erosion, with Benzene rebounding a little back up above $3.75/gal, they might feel renewed pressure concerning elevated feedstocks. Styrene monomer is just around $.60/lb, providing Polystyrene producers little margins when considering all costs to manufacturing the resin. (The Plastics Exchange)