Aug 10 2010
ICIS pricing, the leading price reporting service for the global chemical industry, has added a weekly polypropylene (PP) margin report to its series of Asian margin reports.
The new ICIS pricing weekly Polypropylene Asia Margin report models the integrated production of polypropylene from both naphtha (steam cracker) and propane (propane dehydrogenation) feedstocks. The report assesses producer integrated cash costs and margins by modelling feedstock and key variable costs, co-product credits and product yields across the production chains. The standalone production of polypropylene from propylene is also considered.
Combining ICIS pricing's benchmark price assessments with feedstock yield models from leading engineering contractor Linde Engineering, the report offers an authoritative and independent measure of how the volatile business environment is affecting cash margins. Current market factors such as softening polymer and propylene prices, rising inventory levels in end-markets, particularly China, and competitive import pressures from new regional capacities and the Middle East, all contribute towards price and margin volatility. This transparency of market dynamics provides buyers, sellers and traders with a basis for informed decisions on market positioning.
"An increasing number of our customers are looking for new referencing mechanisms for their long-term business needs," said Paul Ray, Head of Data & Analytics, ICIS. "This report opens the door for providing consistent, dependable and independent referencing to cost and margin data."
The concise 3-page report includes charts, tables and bullet-point summaries, giving a clear indication of both short-term and long-term trends.
The launch of the Polypropylene Asia Margin report builds on the success of existing Asian Ethylene and Polyethylene margin reports.
ICIS publishes trusted pricing information and analyses the factors driving the chemical industry. ICIS weekly polypropylene pricing reports are widely used for benchmarking and market intelligence, to underpin commercial contracts and to support key business decisions.