April 17, 2026 | Market Update

Reminder: Resin increases accelerate across entire supply chain

Market Update
April 17, 2026

This is a special edition of the market update meant to provide you with up-to the-minute news affecting plastic markets. A full Monthly Market Update will be out the first week of May.

Historically, when the market gets disrupted like it is right now, pricing usually starts increasing in olefins like PE and PP, then works its way into styrenics such as ABS, SAN, and ASA, and eventually reaches engineering resins like nylon 6, nylon 66, and PC. What’s been different this time is how fast those increases have ripped through the entire value chain. With so much happening all at once, below is a recap of the increases we’ve seen since 3.1.26. This may not capture every single one in the market, but it reflects what has come across our desk, and we’re sharing it to help everyone manage the chaos a little better.

PE – most suppliers moved March pricing to about $0.10 per pound effective March 1. ExxonMobil revised an earlier increase from $0.05/lb to $0.10/lb and shifted the effective date to March 1, while Chevron Phillips revised its increase from $0.08/lb to $0.10/lb, Shell restated a prior $0.05/lb increase to $0.10/lb for HDPE and LLDPE, Nova Plastics confirmed a $0.10/lb March increase, and LYB Equistar revised its March increase to $0.10/lb for all polyethylene sold in North America. April polyethylene increases also escalated significantly. Dow issued a sequence of revisions that moved its April increase from $0.05/lb to $0.15/lb and then to $0.30/lb effective April 1. ExxonMobil confirmed its $0.10/lb March increase and added another $0.20/lb for April 1, while Nova revised its April increase from $0.05/lb to $0.20/lb and LYB Equistar announced an additional $0.10/lb for April 1. Taken together, the letters indicate a fast-tightening polyethylene market in which suppliers first aligned around $0.10/lb for March and then pushed for materially larger April increases, with some also warning of supply pressure. Separately, LYB’s March 9 force majeure notice was not a direct price increase announcement, but it reinforced the market backdrop by warning that the Iran conflict was disrupting logistics, feedstocks, and supply chains, and that volumes could be limited and commercial terms adjusted. Overall, the market is characterized by rising feedstock and operating costs, tightening supply conditions, and increasingly aggressive producer price actions across both polyethylene and polypropylene.

PP – In polypropylene, Interplast announced a 5.8% increase effective April 1, 2026, citing higher Product Gross Profit (PGP) raw material costs along with energy, production, and logistics pressures, while RheTech announced increases ranging from $0.01 to $0.06 per pound effective April 1, 2026, depending on virgin polypropylene content.

PA6 compounds, including neat, glass-filled, and flame-retardant grades, are seeing expected increases of $0.08 to $0.015 per pound, with glass-filled and flame-retardant grades trending higher at $0.010 to $0.18 per pound. From what we have received (not all are known) effective April 15, six producers are raising prices, including Celanese (two), BASF (two), AdvanSix, Ascend, Radici, and Envalior. Glass-filled grades in particular reflect real filler cost pressure, and the market is also being supported by BASF and SONGWON stabilizer increases which are focused on nylons.

PA66 compounds, including neat, glass-filled, and flame-retardant grades, are also expected to move up by $0.08 to $0.12 per pound, with glass-filled and flame-retardant materials more likely to land in the $0.10 to $0.16 range. Six producers are increasing prices effective April 15, with Celanese leading with the headline increase of $0.23 per pound. Pressure continues across the ADN/HMD value chain in the production of PA66 with additional support coming from the CDI caprolactam index.

PC/ABS compounds, including general purpose, flame-retardant, and UV grades, represent the highest-increase category at the moment. GP grades are expected to rise $0.10 to $0.15 per pound, while flame-retardant grades are more likely to move $0.13 to $0.18 per pound. Covestro has announced cumulative increases of $0.15 to $0.35 per pound, and Sabic has confirmed increases ranging from $0.34 to $0.57 per pound globally.

PC, in general purpose and flame-retardant grades both have been moving 12 to 18 CPP with announcements from Sabic (29 CPP in total) and Covestro (15 CPP). While Sabic was late to the table on increases, they made up for it in value. And the difference in the PC realm is the stiffness of the increases they are holding. This is happening all while imports are shorted in the market currently.

ABS compounds, including general purpose, flame-retardant, and high-impact grades, are already increasing by $0.10 to $0.13 per pound, with flame-retardant grades likely landing between $0.13 and $0.16 per pound. Market support is coming from announced increases implemented between April 1 and April 15, including Celanese at $0.20 per pound, Sabic CYCOLAC, and INEOS Styrolution at $0.15 per pound, while the imports are slow to react to supply in North America.

PBT compounds, including neat, glass-filled, and flame-retardant grades, are expected to move up by $0.09 to $0.13 per pound, while GF30% or higher grades are more likely to see increases of $0.10 to $0.14 per pound. Effective April 15, Celanese announced a $0.23 per pound increase, with Sabic VALOX also supporting the market. Since many glass-filled PBT grades contain 30 to 50 percent glass fiber, the filler cost is a very real driver here.
POM, or acetal, is expected to increase more modestly, in the range of $0.06 to $0.08 per pound. Celanese announced a $0.09 per pound increase effective April 15, supported by pressure on formaldehyde feedstocks. TPU and TPE compounds are expected to rise by $0.09 to $0.11 per pound, with TPU specifically more likely to see increases in the $0.11 to $0.14 per pound range. Covestro’s announced an MDI increase of $0.10 per pound effective April 15 provides clear cost support for TPU pricing.

Best Regards,
Chuck Hoop
Business Director
Star Plastics