Regional Market Snapshot-North America, Europe, Asia
Cost Structure Analysis
Production Size
Production Size North America
25.0 MMT
Production Size Europe
18.2 MMT
Production Size Asia Pacific (APAC)
44.6 MMT
Polyethylene Market Trends
Category Intelligence on Polyethylene covers the following
Information relating to market, supply, cost, and pricing analysis
Hard-to-find data on cost and TCO models, supplier details, and performance benchmarks
Macroeconomic and regional trends impacting cost, supply, and other market dynamics
Category-specific negotiation and sourcing advice
Table of contents
Polyethylene Executive Summary
Global Market Outlook
Supply Market Outlook
Demand Market Outlook
Industry Best Practice
Polyethylene Market Analysis
Global Market Size: PE
Global Capacity - Demand Analysis
Global Demand by Application
Global Market Outlook
Global Trade Dynamics
Global Imports
Global Exports
Regional Market Outlook (North America, Europe and Asia, LATAM, and MEA)
Supply - Demand Trends and Outlook
Trade Dynamics
Polyethylene Industry Analysis
Industry Outlook (North America, Europe and Asia, LATAM, and MEA)
Drivers and Constraints for the Industry
Mergers and Acquisitions
Innovations
Porter’s Five Forces Analysis
Polyethylene Cost and Pricing Analysis
Cost and Price Analysis (US, Europe, Asia, LATAM, and MEA)
Cost Structure Analysis
Price Analysis: PE (North America, Europe, Asia, LATAM, and MEA)
Polyethylene Supplier Analysis
Global Capacity Share by Suppliers
Global Capacity Addition by Suppliers
Regional Capacity Share
Exhaustive Supplier List
Key Global Supplier Profiles - SWOT Analysis for Global Suppliers
Financial Risk for Top Five Global Suppliers (if publicly listed)
Polyethylene Industry Best Practices
Contract Structures
Industry Best Practices
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Industry Outlook & Drivers
Global Market Outlook on Polyethylene
The global polyethylene market is expected to grow at 3.2% CAGR during 2017–2022.
Market growth in the Asia Pacific (APAC) will follow a robust trajectory. Asia will remain the key demand driver with a projected growth rate of 4.4% owing to rising per capita consumption.
Blow molding applications and food/non-food packaging applications will be the key segments that will drive the market growth across the regions.
North America holds the major global polyethylene market share with 20%, followed by European Union (EU): 16%, Asia: 39%, Middle East and Africa (MEA): 20%, and Latin America (LATAM): 5%.
The top polyethylene suppliers are SABIC, ExxonMobil Chemical, Dow Chemical, Sinopec, and Petrochina.
The polyethylene market analysis reveals that films used for packagings (food and non-food) such as LDPE films, LLDPE films, and cast films, and non-packaging account for over half of the global PE demand.
The COVID-19 pandemic has led to calls for action from several stakeholders such as vendors, producers, distributors, and consumers. Business standstills for at least three months during 2020 in tandem with reduced demand from a couple of key markets have put a dent in the revenue pool of PE producers and distributors. However, this report on the polyethylene market trend underlines that the COVID-19 impact on polyethylene will be compensated over the medium-to-long term.
Demand Market Outlook
The Middle East and North America are the supply surplus regions, while Asia, LATAM, and Europe are the trade deficit regions. The trend is broadly expected to continue until 2022.
In APAC, demand for polyethylene films will majorly come from the construction and packaging industries.
In Europe, the automotive industry is driving the demand for these extruded films.
In North America, the polyethylene market is primarily driven by healthcare, packaging, automotive, and electrical & electronics industries.
Global Market Size: PE
The global PE market was valued at $152 Bn in 2016 and is estimated to touch $190 Bn by 2022, growing at a CAGR of 3.8 percent.
Asia will likely witness a high growth rate of about 4.4% CAGR, followed by the Middle East, ranging from 4-5% CAGR, while saturated markets such as the US are expected to witness a 2–3% CAGR during 2017–2022.
Markets in Europe and LATAM will grow at 1.2% and 2.3% during the forecast period respectively.
Global Capacity–Demand Analysis
The increase in new capacities to the tune of 33-34 MMT by 2021 and modest demand growth rates of 3.2 percent CAGR are likely to keep the market well supplied.
An increase in new capacities by over 6 MMT in China, the largest demand center, could reduce the supply-demand gap. Thereby, leaving CPG buyers with more domestic sourcing options. However, Asia would continue to be a net importer of PE.
Likewise, an increase in new capacities in the US could lead to increased exports into LATAM, China, and African countries.
Market Outlook
An abundance of low-cost ethane in the US has been driving PE capacity expansions in the U.S. as well as in Canada, where over 10 MMT new capacity would be online by 2021.
Lifting of sanctions on Iran will drive new PE capacity additions in the country.
Due to stringent environmental regulations in China, the country has scrapped "coal to olefins plants" and has started investing in imported ethane-based crackers.
Europe’s recycling targets: The European Union (EU) has set its targets for recycling to over 40% by 2025 in a bid to curb the demand for virgin PE.
Price movements of ethylene have a considerable impact on the resin production cost and margins.
Price analysis forecasts that the American polyethylene market price was expected to decrease by 0–1% in Q3 2019 on a Q-o-Q basis.
The prices were expected to decrease by 1–2% on a Q-o-Q basis in Europe.
The global polyethylene market incorporates several manufacturers that are aiming to surpass their peers in terms of value by rolling out leading-edge polythene products derived from film extrusion. Other players are entering into collaborations to develop such products.
Engagement Outlook
The North American market is predominantly contract-based, and buyers prefer to source locally, due to the higher cost of imported PE.
Contracts are generally renewed annually.
In Asia, buyers engage in spot buying and source both within the region or from Europe/Asia, if arbitrage opportunities are available.
In Europe, the buyers’ source both within the region and from Asia/Middle East. Both spot and contract prices are used.
The suppliers are willing to enter into a contract, only if the minimum order volume is over 1,000 MT or sometimes over 2,000 MT.
Market Overview
An abundance of low-cost ethane in the US has been driving PE capacity expansions in the US and Canada, where over 10 MMT new capacity would be online by 2021.
Lifting of sanctions on Iran will drive new PE capacity additions in Iran.
Due to stringent environmental regulations in China, the country has scrapped "coal to olefins plants" and has started investing in imported ethane-based crackers.
Europe’s recycling targets: The European Union has set its targets for recycling to over 40 percent by 2025, which is expected to curb the demand for virgin PE in the market.
Price movements of ethylene have a considerable impact on the resin production cost and margins.
Price analysis forecasts that the American polyethylene market price was expected to decrease by 0–1 percent in Q3 2019 on a Q-o-Q basis.
The prices were expected to decrease by 1–2 percent on a Q-o-Q basis in Europe.
Why You Should Buy This Report
Regional market analysis, supply-trend analysis, industry drivers and constraints, cost structure, and pricing analysis of the polyethylene market.
Provides supplier profile and SWOT analysis of major polyethylene suppliers like Exxon Mobil, SABIC, etc.
It lists out the best industry practices and pricing structures.
Get strategic assessment through drivers, trends, opportunities, challenges, and Porter's five forces analysis.
Discover potential strategies of market leaders, as well as various market developments including new product launches, M&As, and competitive analysis.
Polyethylene Frequently Asked Questions
What makes Asia the key demand driver for the polyethylene market and what is its expected growth rate?
Asia is known to be the key demand driver for the polyethylene market as it fairly contributes to the increase in per capita consumption and shows an expected growth rate of 4.4 percent.
Which regions capture the major shares of the global polyethylene market and what’s their market share?
As per the polyethylene market outlook report, the major share of the global polyethylene market is from the North American region capturing 20 percent of the share. It is followed by the EU with 16 percent, Asia with 39 percent, MEA with 20 percent, and LATAM region with just 5 percent share.
What’s the average production size of North America, Europe, and the APAC region for the polyethylene market?
Amongst North America, Europe, and the APAC region, the highest production of polyethylene comes from Europe with 44.6 MMT size. Europe is followed by North America with a production size of 25.0 MMT and then by the APAC region with a production of 18.2 MMT.
Who are the top suppliers of the polyethylene market?
As per Beroe’s report, the top suppliers of the polyethylene market are:
-SABIC
-Exxon Mobil
-Dow Chemical
-SINOPEC
-Petrochina
What’s the average length of contract that’s acceptable within the polyethylene market as an industry standard?
The average acceptable length of contract in the polyethylene market is one year.
Had there been any major pricing shift within the polyethylene market across regions between Q2 of one year and Q3 of the next year?
According to the data report generated by Beroe, the price outlook for the polyethylene market took a considerable shift across regions when Q2 of one year and Q3 of next year were compared. The insights are as follows:
-NA: 0.0 percent
-EU: 5.7 percent
-Asia: 4.3 percent
-MEA: 2.0 percent
-LATAM: 4.9 percent
What’s the primary challenge/opportunity being faced by the suppliers in the polyethylene market?
As per Beroe’s analysis, capacity addition in China, Iran, India, and Mexico to decrease the PE exports from the US region is the biggest challenge/opportunity that is being faced by the suppliers in the polyethylene market.
Where does the global capacity, global demand, and global demand CAGR stand for the polyethylene market?
As per the polyethylene market analysis report shared by Beroe, the global capacity, global demand, and global demand CAGR of the polyethylene market stands at a valuation of 98.70 MMT, 87.23 MMT, and 3.53 percent respectively.
What kinds of engagement are acceptable as industry standards within the polyethylene market across regions?
There are two forms of engagement widely accepted as industry standards within the polyethylene industry. The engagement forms are:
-Contract
-Spot
These two engagement forms are bifurcated within regions as:
-North America region: Contract
-Asia: Spot
-Europe: Contract and Spot