Market Insights

Field notes from the polymer desk.

Working explainers on the resins, processes, and contract clauses that move polymer cargo. Written for people who buy and sell the material, not for the search engine.

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Trade & Compliance

Masterbatch Explained: Colour, Additive, and Filler Concentrates

Masterbatch is how colour and performance get into plastic without dosing raw pigment. Here is the difference between colour, additive, white, black, and filler types.

25 May 20262 min readRead article

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Engineering Plastics

PET Resin: A Buyer's Guide to Bottle, Fibre, and Film Grades

PET is sold by intrinsic viscosity, not melt flow, and it must arrive dry. Here is how bottle, fibre, and film grades differ and what to put on the RFQ.

25 May 20262 min

Trade & Compliance

Pre-Shipment Inspection for Polymer Cargo: What SGS and Intertek Actually Check

An independent inspection before the container doors close is the cheapest insurance in polymer trade. Here is what the inspector verifies and when to require one.

24 May 20262 min

Trade & Compliance

Packaging and Container Loading for Polymer Shipments

How resin is packed — 25 kg bags, 1 MT FIBCs, or bulk — decides how much fits a container, what it costs to land, and whether it arrives clean.

24 May 20262 min

Trade & Compliance

How to Write a Polymer RFQ That Gets Accurate, Comparable Quotes

A vague RFQ gets padded prices you can't compare. A precise one gets tight, decision-ready offers in days. Here is the field-by-field checklist.

23 May 20262 min

Trade & Compliance

Antidumping and Trade-Defence Duties on Polymers: A Buyer's Guide

An attractive FOB price means nothing if a 40% antidumping duty waits at the destination. How trade-defence measures reshape polymer landed cost.

22 May 20262 min

Trade & Compliance

EU PPWR and Recycled-Content Mandates: What Polymer Buyers Must Know

The EU's Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation rewrites the recycled-content rulebook for anyone selling packaged goods into Europe. Here is what it requires and when.

21 May 20262 min

Pricing & Markets

Sourcing Polymers from Northeast Asia: Korea, China, and Japan

Northeast Asia is the world's deepest polymer supply base — and its naphtha economics make it behave very differently from the Gulf. A buyer's map of the region.

20 May 20262 min

Trade & Compliance

Global Polymer Trade Routes: Who Ships to Whom, and How

Five trade lanes carry most of the world's polymer. Here is the cargo, the timing, the chokepoints, and the contracts behind each route.

13 May 20264 min

Pricing & Markets

Polymer Market Data 2026: Capacities, Spreads, and the Year Ahead

Global polymer capacity, regional spreads, plant additions, and the macro view as of mid-2026. Numbers, not narratives.

6 May 20264 min

Pricing & Markets

Polymer Market Outlook 2026: Supply, Demand, and Price Forecasts

Global polymer demand is forecast to grow 3.2% in 2026, but regional dynamics diverge sharply. Here is what buyers should plan for across polyethylene, polypropylene, and PVC.

1 May 20262 min

Trade & Compliance

The Ports That Move the World's Polymers

Twelve ports handle the bulk of containerised polymer trade. Here is what each one ships, who calls there, and why it matters for sourcing.

29 Apr 20264 min

Trade & Compliance

How to Source Polymers Internationally: A Complete Buyer's Guide

International polymer sourcing is a sequence of decisions: origin, grade, Incoterm, payment, and compliance. Get them in the right order and the cargo moves. Get them wrong and it sits at port.

28 Apr 20262 min

Polyethylene

Recycled Polymers: A Buyer's Guide to rPET, rHDPE, and rPP

Recycled polymer demand is growing faster than supply. Here is what buyers need to know about grades, certifications, pricing, and the real-world limits of circularity.

25 Apr 20262 min

Polyethylene

HDPE, LDPE, LLDPE: A Buyer's Guide to the Three Polyethylenes

Three resins, the same monomer, three very different supply chains. Here is how to tell them apart on the page and on the line.

22 Apr 20262 min

Trade & Compliance

Polymer Trading Glossary: 50 Terms Every Buyer Should Know

The vocabulary of polymer trade is dense with abbreviations and jargon. This glossary defines the terms that show up in contracts, CoAs, and RFQs.

20 Apr 20263 min

Polypropylene

PP Homopolymer vs Copolymer: Choosing the Right Polypropylene

The single most common mistake on a polypropylene RFQ is asking for the wrong family. Here is how the three polypropylenes actually differ.

15 Apr 20262 min

Polyethylene

What MFI Actually Tells You (and What It Doesn't)

Melt Flow Index is the single number every polymer trader quotes and every junior buyer misreads. Here is what it really measures.

8 Apr 20262 min

PVC

Suspension PVC vs Emulsion PVC: When the Process Matters

PVC is sold by process before it is sold by grade. Here is why suspension and emulsion PVC are not interchangeable.

1 Apr 20262 min

Engineering Plastics

Engineering Plastics Compared: ABS, PC, PA, POM, and PBT

Five engineering resins, five very different jobs. A working reference for procurement teams who don't moonlight as polymer chemists.

25 Mar 20262 min

Trade & Compliance

Reading a Polymer Certificate of Analysis: A Buyer's Checklist

A CoA is a one-page contract between producer and lot. Here is what to verify before the truck leaves the warehouse.

18 Mar 20262 min

Trade & Compliance

Incoterms 2020 for Polymer Buyers: FOB, CFR, CIF, and DAP

Four Incoterms cover almost all polymer trade. Here is what each one actually shifts — cost, risk, and document responsibility.

11 Mar 20262 min

Trade & Compliance

Letter of Credit, Documentary Collection, or Open Account?

Three payment instruments, three risk profiles. Choosing correctly is worth more than two cents on the resin price.

4 Mar 20262 min

Pricing & Markets

How Polymer Pricing Actually Works: Naphtha, Ethylene, and the Resin Spread

The price of every commodity polymer is built from three layers. Here is what moves each one and how the layers compress when markets tighten.

25 Feb 20262 min

Trade & Compliance

REACH and RoHS Compliance for Polymer Buyers in the EU

REACH and RoHS are not optional. Here is what they cover, what they do not, and what to ask the producer to certify.

18 Feb 20262 min

Trade & Compliance

FDA-Compliant Polymers for Food Contact: A Buyer's Checklist

Food contact is a regulated use, not a marketing claim. Here is what FDA compliance actually requires and how to verify it on a CoA.

11 Feb 20262 min

Pricing & Markets

The Middle East as a Polymer Origin: Why GCC Producers Anchor the Trade

The GCC produces a quarter of the world's polyethylene and a third of the world's polypropylene exports. The reason is simple geology, and it is durable.

4 Feb 20262 min