Plastics News - In a surprise move, ExxonMobil Chemical Co. has announced that it will reduce U.S. polypropylene resin prices by as much as 5 cents per pound in June. The move will take place regardless of any price change for propylene feedstock, market sources said.  See Plastics News article here.

Plastics Today - A surge in new plastics chemical capacity coming from low-cost producers in North America, the Middle East and China is driving an oversupply in the global market for polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP). The glut will pressure margins for producers and change the global competitive landscape, according to a new report from global business analyst IHS (Englewood CO).  See Plastics Today article here.

Plastics Today - ​The UOP business of Honeywell (Morris Plains, NJ) broke ground on a new manufacturing facility outside Shanghai to produce materials used to convert methanol from coal into feedstocks for making plastics. This breakthrough technology allows China and other countries to tap abundant, low-cost coal resources to meet growing demand for plastics.  See Plastics Today article here.

PE pricing remained flat for the early part of May.  Improving PE production from Mexico could signal downward price pressure in the coming months.  Oil pricing is again on the rise, however, and gives producers a talking point for maintaining recent price gains.  See update here.

PE pricing, supply and demand remains fairly unchanged.  Oil prices continue to move up due to supply outages and increased Asian demand, but slowing PE demand domestically coupled with improving supply has kept resin pricing in check.  See update here.

Sealed Air Corporation has entered a strategic partnership with Box on Demand and Panotec, providers of 3-dimensional equipment platforms and fanfold corrugated for on-demand, right-sized box creation.  See article here.

PE trading was apparently uneventful this past week with little change in pricing, supply and demand.  See update here.

Pregis has announced an investment of approximately $17 million in its Grand Rapids, MI facility, which has been known as Eagle Film Extruders. The investment will be supporting expanded production space, as well as new flexible packaging manufacturing and converting equipment.  See article here for more information.

Solid PE demand allowed producers to solidify the $0.04 April increase bringing the two month total gain to $0.09/lb - offsetting the previous 3 decreases stretching back to September.  See update here.