Where does the price information come from?

PIE has a large, industry-wide network of contacts, which ensures uniquely market-focused coverage. The price information is based on research that has been done with processors, producers, compounders, recyclers, distributors, system houses and dealers. A broadly based online survey (after registration to PriceDesk) is carried out each month. Also, a fixed panel of business insiders, supplemented by a changing group of industry contacts, are interviewed in detail by phone about the market situation, prices for granules (primary/secondary material) and price expectations.

What do the prices refer to?

Unless stated otherwise, all given prices are average Western European contract-based prices from the indicated period. We refer to gross prices for delivery at place, without any rebates, discounts, bonuses or other net settlements, and without value added tax.
“Spot prices” are published weekly for commodities traded outside of contractually agreed volumes. These are usually purchase volumes of one to two truckloads (20 t loads) and are given as invoice prices in EUR/t (net-net price excluding VAT). 

Price quotations refer to the following purchase volumes:

• Standard thermoplastics: Single purchases in 20 t loads
• Engineering thermoplastics: Single purchases from distributors of ready-to-use materials (injection moulding materials) between 3 t and 10 t
• Polyurethanes and composites: Small single purchases on a pellet basis
• Recyclates: Standard grades common in Western Europe, with purchase volumes of 1 t and above – ready-to-use granulates based on collected household waste or commercial waste collection

How are PIE reference prices determined?

Based on the price data stored in the PriceDesk, and information gathered through personal contact with market players, PIE determines a price range for each polymer grade for the respective period. Special consideration is given to the specifics of individual companies (e.g. volumes, grades and specifications used, price level, destination/origin etc.), which are included as additional parameters for weighting individual data when determining the range. The arithmetic mean of the range forms the reference price. The reference price is shown, among other things, in price charts and is used to calculate the “Plastixx” polymer price indices.

How is volatility calculated from PIE reference prices?

Volatility is a measure of the fluctuation of parameters, applied, in this case, to the monthly reference prices of a product. PIE calculates volatility – as customary in financial mathematics, e.g. for stock market prices – as the standard deviation of the difference between the monthly reference price and the reference price of the previous month for all the months of a year. In other words: as the standard deviation of the absolute prior month deltas of a year.

Non-European pricing information?

Plastics prices for China, North America and Russia are communicated to PIE by correspondents and cooperation partners from their respective regions. The local price data are collected in accordance with standards recognised in respective markets. You will find more details in respective price reports.

Would you like to be part of the PriceDesk community?

If you are a regular buyer of plastics feedstocks or a plastics supplier in Western Europe, we would be pleased to hear from you. Registration for our PriceDesk is free of charge for KI/PIE subscribers. Participants will receive regular, consolidated overviews of the raw data collected.

Web: www.pieweb.com/pricedesk
Email: press@pieweb.com
Phone: +49 (0) 6172 / 9606-30