The Plastic Resin Buyer Brief

This week on Resin Market Moves, Michael Workman covers the full Q2 resin market picture from the prior week.The headline: producers are moving beyond cost recovery and into margin expansion — layering increases across March, April, and now May in PE and PP. The Hormuz situation is real supply risk and it's providing strategic cover for moves that were coming regardless.This episode covers PE, PP, ABS, PS, PC, Nylon 6, PA66, PVC, and PET — with a specific buyer action for each.The two critical markets this week: ABS and PS. Benzene is above $4.00/gal. Multiple producers have April increases on the table. If you don't have a qualified alternate, you are unprotected heading into June nominations.The opportunity market: PC. BPA is flat. China oversupply is capping the ceiling. The buyer leverage window is open right now and will not stay open.Also covered: force majeure declared on PA66 in China, what the Invista PDH outage means for PP, and why new home sales hitting a 3.5-year low matters for your PVC contracts.Purchase wisely.ResinSmart | Powered by RTi | resinsmart.ai

This week on Resin Market Moves, Michael Workman covers the most consequential week in resin pricing in recent memory — and breaks down exactly what buyers should do about it.The conflict in the Middle East has effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz to meaningful trade flow. Over 20% of global crude and more than 5% of global PP moves through that channel. It is not moving right now. The result: feedstock costs spiking across the board, producers pushing increases in every major resin simultaneously, and export demand pulling hard at US domestic supply.This is not a single-resin story. This is a portfolio-level event. And the buyers who understand what is driving each specific market — as opposed to accepting every increase as inevitable — will protect their margins in Q2.WHAT WE COVER:PE: Up to $0.10/lb March, $0.15/lb April. Brent at $110–$115. Ethylene toward 30 cents/lb.PP: PGP spot at 51 cents/lb, a 50%+ jump month to date. Invista PDH still offline. One producer at +10 cents/lb April.PS: BZ above $4.00/gal. AmSty 17 cents/lb for April. February supply/demand data actually supports the move.PVC: 3–5 cents/lb March. Heavy turnaround season. One supplier at 7 cents/lb for April.ABS: Celanese $0.20/lb and INEOS $0.15/lb for April. Acrylonitrile up $0.19/lb week over week.PET: Indorama moving immediately. APG and Celanese following. World Cup demand tailwind ahead.PC, PA6, PA66: Celanese moving across engineered materials. April the focus. Demand still soft.The 5 things smart buyers are doing right now before Q2 locks in.RESOURCES:ResinSmart Price Benchmark60-day free trial Weekly newsletter——ResinSmart is the industry's only platform combining real resin market analytics with hands-on supplier negotiation guidance. Powered by RTi — 25+ years, 25B+ lbs of transaction data.Subscribe for weekly episodes every Friday.

If you're a plastic processor, resin is your single largest variable cost — and the market has been engineered to keep you at a disadvantage. Supplier reps walk into every negotiation with hundreds of live transaction prices across their entire book of business. Most buyers walk in with an index and instinct. That gap is real. And it's costing your company money every quarter. In this episode, ResinSmart Commercial Director Michael Workman sits down with two of the sharpest minds in resin procurement to unpack why the system works this way — and what buyers are doing to flip the script. Bill Bowie built his career at Poly America under a mentor who taught him the value of a half a penny — and spent the next 40 years applying that lesson across billions of pounds of polymer. Tyler Wheeler came up buying resin for Amcor, the world's largest packaging company, before joining ResinSmart to build the data platform he always wished he'd had. What you'll hear in this episode: → The Daskasill origin story — why ResinSmart exists and what Bill saw in the buying function that needed to change→ Tyler's polycarbonate story — negotiating a 10-cent win and leaving 40 cents on the table because the data wasn't there→ Why indexes serve two masters — and how non-market adjustments quietly transfer wealth from buyers to suppliers→ The 3 keys every buyer can start applying today: build your network, expand your supply base, expand your resin categories→ What to do with your time when prices are going up and leverage is thin (hint: it's the most important prep work you can do)→ How the ResinSmart platform combines live feedstocks, cost models, LevGauge assessments, and peer-reviewed transaction data into a single, always-current view of your opportunity→ The mindset shift: a price increase nomination is the start of a conversation — not the end of one Notable quotes from this episode: "Markets go up like a rocket. They come down like a feather. What we do at ResinSmart is turn that feather into a rocket." — Bill Bowie "I left 40 cents on the table. I thought I'd won. I had no idea." — Tyler Wheeler "That price increase letter is a nomination. It is not to be held as gospel." — Michael Workman "The people who use us the most have been the people who needed us the least — because they already know what a competitive edge looks like." — Michael Workman ─────────────────────────────Resources mentioned:Free 48-hour benchmark assessment → https://ResinSmart.aiConnect with Michael Workman → LinkedInConnect with Bill Bowie → LinkedInConnect with Tyler Wheeler → LinkedIn

This week, crude oil spiked to a 4-year high near $120/barrel following military action in the Middle East and threats to the Strait of Hormuz. Resin producers across PE, PP, PS, PVC, PET, and engineering resins are pushing price increases — but what does the supply/demand data actually say?In this episode, Michael Workman breaks down data across nine major resin families, explaining where the upward pressure is real, where it's narrative, and what procurement teams should be doing right now to protect their margins.Topics covered:PE: 10¢/lb increase push vs. healthy 38-day inventoriesPP: Feedstock-driven pricing — not demandPVC: Legitimate two-sided squeeze (turnarounds + logistics)Engineering resins: Cost pressure without pricing powerPET: World Cup demand catalyst aheadHow geopolitics actually move resin markets (3 key levers)Tags: , , , , , , , , , .

Geopolitical tensions in the Middle East have begun to ripple through energy and petrochemical markets.Crude oil has moved above $70 per barrel, propylene prices have surged, and polyethylene producers are already pushing price increases.But are these signals pointing to a real tightening of the resin market—or simply a shift in supplier narrative?In this episode of Resin Market Moves, we break down:• The connection between energy markets and resin pricing• Why polypropylene is currently a feedstock-driven market• How global trade flows can shift North American resin availability• What procurement leaders should be watching over the next 30–60 daysResin Market Moves delivers clear, data-driven insights to help buyers navigate volatile markets and make smarter purchasing decisions.

Military escalation in the Middle East has introduced significant uncertainty into global polyethylene and polypropylene markets.In 2024, the Middle East accounted for: • 37% of globally traded PE exports • 28% of globally traded PP exportsWith approximately 16 million metric tons of polyethylene exports potentially exposed to disruption, the implications extend far beyond the region.In this episode of Resin Market Moves, we analyze: • The scale of global polyolefins trade exposure • Why North American buyers are indirectly impacted • How export pull can tighten domestic markets • The role of oil and natural gas in near-term cost pressure • Practical steps resin buyers should take immediatelyThis episode is focused on structure, not headlines.Because in volatile markets, discipline is the advantage.