Martin Bäcker

POLYETHYLENE Brazil imposes final anti-dumping duties on US, Canadian imports / Measures maintained at provisional levels	31.03.2026
LOGISTICS Container freight rates remain subdued / Fuel for ships and aircrafts running short	27.03.2026
POLYMER PRICES – UPDATE Standard thermoplastics March/April: Price surges put processors under immense pressure / Passing on increases proving difficult / Prices rise across the board by EUR 400/t	19.03.2026
CHINA State of emergency: Middle East conflict shakes petrochemicals sector / High import dependence	16.03.2026
SABIC Resin maker changes C2/C3 formula-based contracts / Price hikes for PE, PP	12.03.2026
MIDDLE EAST CONFLICT Massive mark-ups on prices for virgin material / What purchasing strategy should processors adopt? / Recyclers face possible upswing, boom in demand	11.03.2026
MIDDLE EAST CONFLICT How Iran war is affecting global plastics industry / Strait of Hormuz a bottleneck for world trade / Is this the turnaround for European polymer production?	03.03.2026
LOGISTICS DB Cargo plans to cut nearly half of all jobs / Freight rates in rollover	27.02.2026
DANGOTE Major expansion of PP production planned in Nigeria / Europe targeted for exports	24.02.2026
PETROCHEMICAL MARKETS PVC: Inovyn announces production shutdown in Martorell / Tunnel between France and Spain closed	05.02.2026
LANXESS Price increase for PA 6.6 precursor adipic acid	26.01.2026
LOGISTICS Shipping companies reduce transport capacity / Freight rates rise by double digits	16.01.2026
POLYMER PRICES PVC December: Rollover for end of year / Talks focused on 2026	05.01.2026
PETROCHEMICAL MARKETS ABS: Fire at Elix in Spain causes plant shutdown / Possible force majeure	22.12.2025
YEAR-ENDER 2025: POLYMER PRICES Imported PTA boosts PET volumes, not profitability / EU mandates support virgin PET as market shrinks / Global PE, PP oversupply caps prices / Packaging, construction, automotive demand subdued	17.12.2025
POLYMER PRICES PVC: Compound formulations defined / Indices to be recalculated from January	17.12.2025
LOGISTICS Heavy shipping traffic on world's oceans causes freight rates to tumble / Intra-Asia routes the exception	05.12.2025
HUNTSMAN Shutdown of major MDI line in Netherlands / No impact on availability expected	03.12.2025
POLYMER PRICES PVC November: Quotations give way / Important price adjustment at turn of year: NMA	01.12.2025
LOGISTICS Opposing trends in container freight rates: US routes down, Europe more expensive / Port strikes in Belgium, Portugal	28.11.2025
PLASTICS RECYCLING EUROPE Downturn deepens in 2024 as structural pressures drag on / Data shows first-ever drop in input and output – PRE report	17.11.2025
LOGISTICS Maersk cautions on freight rates after strong Q3 / Hapag-Lloyd puts 12th container giant into service / Freight rates facing a turnaround?	07.11.2025
POLYMER PRICES PVC: Non-market adjustment amount set from January 2026 onwards / PVC compound formula to be revised / Two new types of recyclate added	04.11.2025
POLYMER PRICES PVC October: Prices move sideways / Downward pressure expected in November / PVC compound formulations to be updated in 2026	03.11.2025
POLYMER PRICES PVC September: Prices persist at rollover level / Weak demand from construction, automotive thwarts producers' ambitions for price hikes	01.10.2025