Halftime: What Resin Buyers Should Know About H1 2026

Two Summer Days for Resin Buyers — Clear Skies in Some Markets, Storm Warnings in Others | July 17, 2026

Resin buyers are entering the second half of July with two very different market conditions. Polyethylene, polypropylene, PVC and PET continue to favor buyers. Inventory remains elevated, no meaningful July price increases have emerged, and current supply-demand fundamentals continue to support aggressive negotiations. But another group of resins just received a weather advisory.  Rising crude oil prices and strengthening benzene spot markets have created new uncertainty for polystyrene, ABS, polycarbonate, PA66 and PA6. While July contract settlements still provide opportunities for buyers, waiting until August could change the negotiation landscape if feedstock costs continue moving higher. In this episode, Michael Workman delivers the full resin market update for the week of July 17, covering every major material: PE, PP, PS, ABS, PC, PVC, PA66, PA6 and PET, along with practical buyer actions for each market. Topics covered: * Why PE, PP, PVC and PET buyers still have leverage * How crude oil and benzene are changing the outlook for five engineering resins * Why July contract settlements matter more than spot market headlines * Production outages versus true demand recovery in polypropylene * The impact of the INEOS Styrolution plant closure on polystyrene * Hurricane season risks for PET buyers with Gulf Coast exposure * Procurement strategies buyers should use before market conditions shift Resin Market Moves publishes every week. Subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts. Powered by ResinSmart | Since 1998

Buyers Are Winning Right Now — But a Geopolitical Wildcard Just Changed the Math | July 10, 2026

PE settled down 15 cents for June. PP settled down 8.5 cents. No proposed price increases in either market for July. Resin buyers are holding the leverage across most major commodity materials. But a mid-week geopolitical shock just changed the math for a significant portion of the market. The collapse of the U.S.-Iran ceasefire framework pushed crude back above $70 per barrel and sent benzene spot prices sharply higher, landing directly in the August contract trading window. For buyers of ABS, polycarbonate, PA66, PA6, and polystyrene, that development tightens the cost relief window — and shifts the urgency from August to July. In this episode, Michael Workman delivers the full resin market sweep for the week of July 10. Every major material covered: PE, PP, PS, ABS, PC, PVC, PA66, PA6, and PET — with specific buyer actions for each. Topics covered: * PE and PP: what's driving the buyer advantage and how to use it * The benzene wildcard: what happened mid-week and why it matters for five resin categories * INEOS Styrolution's permanent closure of a major North American PS facility * Why ABS and PC buyers need to act in July, not August * PVC demand conditions and the housing market drag * PET and the hurricane season risk for Q3 Gulf Coast supply Resin Market Moves publishes every week. Subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts. Powered by ResinSmart | Since 1998

Halftime: What Resin Buyers Should Know About H1 2026

H1 2026 was one of the most active nomination environments in recent memory — north of 90 proposed increases across commodity and engineering resins in a single quarter. The justification was consistent: feedstock costs, supply disruptions, force majeure. Some of that was real. A lot of the ask on top of it wasn't. In this episode, we break down what H1 actually looked like from the buyer's side — what was proposed, what settled, and the gap between them where buyers who had data won. Then we walk through the mid-year review framework that separates the programs entering H2 with leverage from the ones running blind. Topics covered: * The H1 nomination wave: scope, patterns, and justification language * Cost pressure vs. pricing power — why the distinction matters in every conversation * Where buyers pushed back and won — and why the data made the difference * The four-question mid-year review framework * H2 outlook: feedstocks, forward exposure, what Q3 nominations likely look like * What to do before the next wave arrives Guest: Michael Workman, Executive Director, ResinSmart | Powered by RTi Global Register: "Stop Negotiating Blind" — Plastics News Webinar, July 22, 12:30 PM CT  https://event.webcasts.com/starthere.jsp?ei=1768507&tp_key=3e20608168

The World Cup, Summer Plastics, and Why Resin Buyers Have the Leverage Right Now | Resin Market Moves | Week of June 29, 2026

PE inventories are at 46 days of supply. PP exports collapsed 17.6% in May. INEOS is permanently closing 400,000 metric tons per year of PS capacity in Illinois. Caprolactam dropped over $136/mt in a week. Crude oil fell nearly $5/bbl. And somewhere in all of this, the World Cup is selling out bars. This week's episode connects the dots between the summer plastics demand story — beverages, pool season, construction, stadium packaging — and the supply overhang that's making this one of the most buyer-favorable resin markets in recent memory. Michael Workman walks through all nine resin markets covered in this week's driver reports and lands on the three things buyers should do before the July 4th slowdown erases four days of negotiating calendar.

The BIG PE Inventory Problem: What This Week's Resin Data Actually Means

Three signals converged in the resin market this week — and they all point in the same direction for buyers.  WTI crude dropped 9%+ on the U.S.-Iran peace agreement. Polyethylene posted its biggest inventory build in 11 years. And benzene, the key feedstock for PA6, PA66, ABS, and PC, settled at a multi-year high for June — but spot has already reverted to the $3s, setting up a July inflection point.  In this live AMA session, ResinSmart's Michael Workman is joined by Directors of Procurement Tyler Wheeler (engineered resins) and Kevin Mekaru (commodity resins) for an unscripted, data-first breakdown of what moved and what to do about it.  What they covered:  * PE inventory up HUGE — the biggest 11-year build. Producer asks have no data support.  * PP: PGP softening into the mid-30s. 3-cent June ask is not legitimate.  * PS: The one commodity resin where modest increases ARE warranted. Here's the benzene math.  * PVC: 4-cent ask vs. an 8-month low in housing starts. How to use construction data in negotiations.  * Engineered resins: How to read the benzene-to-resin price lag — and when July settlement triggers the rollback conversation.  * POM/Acetal: Why this market is producer-channel-managed, and what that means for your pricing.  * Live Q&A: PA66 supply risk from Celanese capacity cuts.  Fuel surcharge timing. EPR legislation and PET. Additive market outlook.  Kevin's closing note: "The signals are on the downward side. Understand what's signal and what's noise." Tyler's closing: "Relief is on the way. If you've been keeping score, you're about to have a healthy procurement pipeline." Topics + Timestamps * 0:00 Intro — Welcome to the first live Resin Market Moves AMA  * 0:44 Macro: Crude oil, PE inventory build, and demand signals  * 2:37 Polyethylene: 791M lbs — the June negotiation argument  * 6:39 Polypropylene: PGP in the mid-30s, Dow PDH turnaround watch  * 8:11 Polystyrene: Why benzene actually justifies modest PS increases  * 8:47 PVC: Housing data as your pushback tool  * 9:53 PET: Seasonal balance + hurricane season coverage  * 11:14 Engineered resins: Benzene $4.91 → reversion to $3s → July trigger  * 18:00 Q&A: When do engineered resin prices actually come back down?  * 23:10 Q&A: EPR legislation — real cost impact on PET/rPET?  * 25:10 Q&A: How to time fuel surcharge rollbacks  * 26:40 Q&A: Celanese PA66 capacity — supply risk or noise?  * 28:20 Q&A: PVC, Chinese carbide exports, and domestic margin defense  * 29:50 Q&A: Additive pricing — TiO2, colorants, next month  * 31:30 Q&A: POM/Acetal — producer-managed market dynamics  * 34:00 Closing: Signal vs. noise. Relief is coming.  Subscribe to Resin Market Moves [https://resinsmart.ai/subscribe] for weekly resin market updates. Get your RESIN8 Benchmark Assessment at resinsmart.ai. [https://resinsmart.ai/]Contact Michael directly: mworkman@resinsmart.ai | 214-984-2977  ResinSmart | Powered by RTi Global | Since 1998