Article Publishing Date: Nov 29, 2021

U.S. Polyethylene Film Imports Surpass $1.7B, Doubling in Past Decade

IndexBox has just published a new report: 'U.S. - Plates, Sheets, Film, Foil and Strip of Non-Cellular Polyethylene - Market Analysis, Forecast, Size, Trends and Insights'. Here is a summary of the report's key findings.

American imports of polyethylene films steadily grew during the last decade, surpassing $1.7B in 2020. The U.S. has nearly doubled polyethylene film purchases, increasing supplies from 281K to 512K tons. Approximately 54% of American polyethylene film imports come from Canada, and a further 15% is supplied from China and Mexico. The average import price for polyethylene films imported to the U.S. decreased by -4.1% y-o-y to $3,318 per ton in 2020.

U.S. Polyethylene Film Imports by Country

Non-cellular polyethylene film imports into the U.S. expanded markedly to 513K tons in 2020, surging by 9.5% against the year before. In general, total imports indicated a substantial expansion from 2010 to 2020: its volume increased at an average annual rate of +6.2% over the last decade.

In value terms, non-cellular polyethylene film imports grew modestly to $1.7B (IndexBox estimates) in 2020. Overall, total imports indicated a remarkable increase over the last decade: their value increased at an average annual rate of +6.2% from 2010 to 2020.

In 2020, Canada (278K tons) constituted the largest supplier of non-cellular polyethylene film to the U.S., accounting for a 54% share of total imports. Moreover, non-cellular polyethylene film imports from Canada exceeded the figures recorded by the second-largest supplier, China (43K tons), sevenfold. Mexico (34K tons) occupied the third position in this ranking with a 6.6% share.

During the last decade, the average annual growth rate of volume from Canada stood at +4.6%. The remaining supplying countries recorded the following average annual rates of imports growth: China (+8.1% per year) and Mexico (+16.1% per year).

In value terms, Canada ($920M) constituted the largest supplier of non-cellular polyethylene film to the U.S., comprising 54% of total imports. The second position in the ranking was occupied by China ($124M), with a 7.3% share of total imports, and it was followed by Mexico, with a 4.7% share.

The average non-cellular polyethylene film import price stood at $3,318 per ton in 2020, decreasing by -4.1% against the previous year. Prices varied noticeably by the country of origin - the country with the highest price was Germany ($4,515 per ton), while the price for imports from Brazil ($1,693 per ton) was amongst the lowest. From 2010 to 2020, the most notable rate of growth in terms of prices was attained by Malaysia, while the prices of the other significant suppliers declined.

Source: IndexBox Market Intelligence Platform