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The cost to make ethylene has fallen
significantly which has driven LLDPE
resin costs down over the past 60 days.
We expect this downward trend to continue
for the balance of the year. We should
look at this as an opportunity to find
new business where prices haven’t reset
to new levels. Of course, on the flip
side, you need to protect your existing
business and keep them informed on the
recent reductions or risk losing the
business to the competitor.
U.S. Stretch Film Producer
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BEAT HIGH STRETCH PRICES |
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HYBRiD80 STRETCH FILMS |
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Western Plastics line of economy
'green solution' stretch films In
hand rolls, machine rolls and narrow
widths |
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Breaking News - What goes up ... is coming down
hard. Commodity resin prices continue to take historic
plunges in North America, with prices for PE, PP
and PET resin sliding further since Nov. 1. Average
per-pound selling prices for PP have swooned a breathtaking
30 cents since that point. All grades of high, low
and linear low density PE are down 15 cents and
PET bottle resin has dropped another 12.
Trade Reporter November 2008
BASF takes drastic action and shuts 80 plants. BASF
is shutting 80 plants worldwide and reducing production
at 100 more facilities in a huge effort to address
the decline in demand for its polymer and chemical
products. The German giant announced this morning
that 20,000 of its 95,000 employees would be affected
by the production cuts. "We already drew attention
to the difficult economic situation at the end of
October. Since then, customer demand in key markets
has declined significantly," said Dr Jurgen Hambrecht,
chairman of the board of executive directors at
BASF. "In particular, customers in the automotive
industry have canceled orders at short notice."
The business units that are primarily affected are
those that supply the automotive, construction and
textile industries. These include the ammonia, styrene
and polyamide businesses which manufacture precursors
for engineering plastics, coatings and fibres. BASF's
move follows similar cutbacks by other polymer producers
this month, including LyondellBasell and Ineos,
which have also blamed a sudden fall in demand for
their products.
Trade Reports November 2008
MOST POPULAR
MOST VISITED THIS WEEK
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Oil plunged below $50 a barrel on today, deepening
losses over the previous four sessions as battered
financial markets reflected ever lower confidence
in the world economy and evidence mounted of falling
fuel demand. U.S. crude fell $3.71, to $49.91 a
barrel , the weakest level since January 2007. Oil
has lost about two-thirds of its value since July's
record above $147.
News Wires November 2008
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Shoring up sales
in tough times
A Wisconsin firm boosts its profits by offering
top clients some tender loving care.
One expert encourages reps to devote more
time to developing relationships with their
best existing clients. Follow that advice
to the letter and you will be pleased with
the results.
Take time to ask questions on the phone
with clients, note that the company will
also occasionally absorb costs, even those
resulting from an outside mistake, in order
to maintain good will. That's gained more
business and even some referrals to new
customers.
"We've tried to build friendships, and that's
paid off,"
From Packaging Business News advice
site
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Sabic Innovative Plastics LP is cutting production
up to 20 percent at all of its engineering plastics
production sites worldwide. Officials said the move
is "a result of significantly softening resin demand
caused by the global economic slowdown." One analyst
said such cuts can be expected "across the industry."
Trade Reporter November 2008
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One positive is that a stronger dollar
helps cut the cost of commodities: steel,
copper, aluminum and oil are much cheaper
than just a few weeks ago. But since
that retreat reflects expectations of
weakness, it is not unalloyed good news.
Trade Commentator
Packaging slump may extend well into
’09 -- High resin prices show no signs
of abating for plastics processors,
and that has analysts who follow the
packaging industry predicting continued
pressure on those companies. About 64
percent of all Standard & Poor’s rated
packaging companies are in the highly
volatile categories.
Trade Analyst
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Breaking News - Commodity resin prices falling with
feedstocks. Like Johnny Cash singing "Ring of Fire,"
commodity resin prices are going down, down, down,
pushed by plummeting feedstocks and scant demand.
Concerns about global economic weakness also have
kept resin buyers on the sidelines, sending prices
down further.
Trade Reporter
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Pepsi on sustainability
Pepsi Bottling Group Inc. released a corporate
responsibility report this week, and plastics
play a pretty major role in the story. The
company highlights its efforts to make bottles
lighter, and also to bring bottle manufacturing
in-house. (Click
here to download the full report, in
PDF format). The report includes a story
quoting Walter Samylenko, director of packaging
engineering, about the company's efforts
to use less plastics through lightweighting.
Read - XP PreStretched Film
Read - HYBRiD80 Stretch Films
Trade News Report October 2008 |
Sign Of The Times. Modern Plastics Corp., founded
in 1937, and one of the oldest U.S. plastics companies,
is closing down-blaming too-high costs for resin
, utilities, transportation and health care costs,
the inability to pass along price increases, customer
financial problems and loss of work to Mexico and
China.
Plastics Trade Reports
Feel the earth moving beneath your feet? Is the
room spinning? Do you turn the steering wheel left,
only to find you're going right? If you answered
yes to any of the above, you just might be in the
North American resin market.
Opinion Piece
U.S. PLASTICS TRADE JOURNAL
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Thinner wrap...More
layers
In stretch film, the story is the emergence
of thinner-gauge films that are just as
strong as their thicker counterparts. Demand
for down gauged films soars.
Read - Perform XL Film
U.S. Packaging Journal 2007 |
The call for source reduction packaging has stoked
demand for prestretched films.
U.S. Stretch Film Producer
Click here for a chart of energy prices
for the past 12 months
PDF
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