NEWS
Industry responds to materials price shock from Gulf war
Plastics processors are being forced to deal with the market fall-out from the US-Israeli war with Iran, including sudden price rises for polymers, additives and energy. There was a sharp increase in oil and gas prices when the conflict in the Gulf started in early March, due to Iran’s blockade of the Strait of Hormuz impacting regular shipments, and oil and gas infrastruc- ture in the region becoming targets for missile strikes. In Europe, plastics manufacturers
face “an emergency situation” caused by higher prices for materials, energy and logistics, and “extreme difficulties in continuous production planning”, said EuPC, the body representing European converters. Cuts to manu- facturers’ production and closure of some companies are possible, accord- ing to EuPC. “Given such extreme volatility in raw
materials and energy prices, price increases will have to be passed on along the entire plastic value chain,” said Benoit Hennaut, EuPC’s President.
Force majeure GKV, the German association of plastics processors, said that materials suppliers should honour existing contracts and not resort to force majeure. “Raw material prices must not be artificially driven up when market indicators are already pointing in the opposite direction,” said Oliver Möllenstädt, CEO of GKV. In a survey of GKV members, two-thirds of companies said they were affected by price increases from raw material suppliers just days after the military escalation of the conflict in the Gulf. ICIS, the chemical market intelli-
gence group, said that “spot prices for building block chemicals of benzene, butadiene, ethylene, methanol, propylene, toluene and xylenes have risen faster on average globally in the
6 FILM & SHEET EXTRUSION | April 2026
last two weeks than at any other point since 2007”. ICIS reported that polyolefin prices in the European spot market shot up in the first two weeks of the war, with PP prices rising by around 40% and PE prices by 30-40%.
Impact on additives Producers of plastics compounds and masterbatches are also trying to cope with the war’s market impact, as suppliers of key additives have put up prices for their products. Lanxess announced on 23 March price increases of up to 35% for flame retardants and specialty additives and up to 50% for plasticisers. The company said this reflects “significant- ly higher costs for energy, critical raw materials, and logistics amid ongoing geopolitical tensions”. Among suppliers of stabilisers
increasing their prices were BASF (which announced antioxidant, process stabiliser and light stabiliser increases of up to 20% globally) and Songwon (increases of 12-20% depending on the product and region). Price rises have also been an- nounced by suppliers of pigments and carbon black. Cabot, for example, said it was raising carbon black prices by up to 20% depending on the product and region. The company
The Strait of Hormuz: negotiators are working to reopen the key shipping channel during a ceasefire in the war
said it “will implement an additional ongoing surcharge, with adjustments continuously evaluated as market conditions evolve”. Geoffroy Tillieux, General Manager
at EuMBC (part of EuPC), said Euro- pean masterbatch and compound companies are especially impacted by reduced availability of commodity polymers such as polyolefins, as well as the surge in prices and force majeure declarations. He told Film & Sheet Extrusion these companies are operating on a day-by-day basis for their procurement needs, without guaranteed supply. “In general, there is pressure on
prices of additives as well, although for the time being there are not yet shortages as is the case for polymers,” said Tillieux. “One particular issue constraining supply of both of poly- mers and additives is the availability of enough shipping/cargo capacity.” Other issues that compounders and masterbatchers are facing include the administrative burden of comply- ing with EU regulations and high energy costs in Europe. “Energy prices such as electricity remain artificially high through cross Member States taxes on imports,” he said. �
www.plasticsconverters.eu �
www.gkv.de �
www.icis.com
www.filmandsheet.com
IMAGE: SHUTTERSTOCK
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