PIE 1185 of 19.12.2025 – Plastics Information Europe

PIE issue 1185

YEAR-ENDER 2025: EU ECONOMIC OUTLOOK OECD predicts slowdown in '26 / Spain to lead, Italy to lag among EU Big Four / UK expansion to ease
YEAR-ENDER 2025: TARIFFS Trump tariffs shook EU plastics industry in 2025 / 15% duty ignited retaliatory firestorms / Diversification and capacity shifts ahead in 2026
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
YEAR-ENDER 2025: EUROPEAN ELECTRICITY MARKET A year of volatility and transition / Spot prices stay high amid weather extremes and grid bottlenecks / Germany anchors regional dynamics as renewables expand unevenly
LYONDELLBASELL Plans for German waste sorting plant paused / Pyrolysis start postponed
ALPLA Packaging producer enters HDPE recycling for food-contact applications / Development project launched in Netherlands
GARBO Major chemical PET recycling project in Italy / EU funding for ChemPET technology
TRIOWORLD Additional recycling lines inaugurated in Sweden / Further expansion planned
UPDATE - REMAT MOL shuts down operations at Hungarian polyolefin recycler
GREENDOT German recycling group acquires Italian compounder Forplast / Chemical recycling central to strategy
BOREALIS / BOROUGE Low-cost mechanically recycled polyolefin compounds aim to boost global acceptance of recyclates
BASF CEO Markus Kamieth: ‘Industry in Germany will not vanish' / Collaboration with, instead of dependence on, China
COVESTRO Acquisition by Adnoc completed
CONTITECH 1,500 additional jobs to be slashed / “Brutal degradation of employees to disposable assets”
ASAHI KASEI Production of PA precursor HMD to end by 2027
ENSINGER Plastics processor cuts 100 jobs at German plants
POLYMER PRICES North America November: Fundamental market weakness, lower feedstock costs put pressure on prices / End of year expected to be quiet
POLYMER PRICES China standard thermoplastics November: Almost all prices fall despite rise in feedstock costs / High supply, weak demand exert pressure / Some impulses expected from incentive policies
POLYMER PRICES China engineering thermoplastics November: Prices mostly decrease on weak downstream demand / POM slightly higher as supply tightens / Ordering to remain low in December as off-season continues
POLYMER PRICES Standard thermoplastics trend December: Rollovers for polyolefins, PVC; small increases for styrenics
POLYMER PRICES Standard recyclate December: Ample stock and little demand – short production month reveals market glut / Companies to close early
POLYMER PRICES Engineering recyclate December: Cheap virgin material puts prices under further pressure / Early maintenance shutdowns / Glimmer of hope emerges for January
AUTOMOTIVE RECYCLING Provisional ELVR deal sets 15% recycled content target after six years / Closed-loop share fixed at 20%
EU POLICY Commission launches bioeconomy strategy / Substitution of fossil fuels / Cefic says enthusiasm is premature / Bioplastics capacity growing rapidly

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