Sep 3, 2014 | Uncategorized
An ongoing issue we have been following is the movement in California to ban plastic grocery bags. Though environmentalists have been pushing for the ban for years, it was just last Friday, August 29th, that the California Senate finally passed a bill banning California grocery, convenience, and drug stores from providing single-use plastics bags. In order for the ban to take effect, Governor Jerry Brown would have to sign the bill into law, though Reuters has stated he hasn’t signaled a position on the measure.
According to a report by Plastics News, the bill includes $2 million in funding within California’s recycling fund so that “plastic bag makers would be able to apply for grants to retrain workers or reorganize operations to make bags that would meet the new state-wide requirements in the bill.”
Lee Califf, executive director of the American Progressive Bag Alliance (APBA), released a statement before the senate vote that said, “It’s disappointing that members of the Assembly voted to advance a bill that threatens 2,000 California manufacturing jobs, hurts consumers and puts billions of dollars into the pockets of grocers — without providing any benefit to the environment.”
It’s important to note that this bill, and similar movements in other states, only seeks to ban the use of plastic grocery bags and not the custom bags we manufacture. Still, it’s an issue we’re keeping an eye on because its ramifications across the plastics industry could be far reaching. We will keep you updated on the situation in California, as well as other high-profile bag-ban proposals in other areas.
Aug 26, 2014 | Uncategorized
In my previous update I told you about resin increases scheduled for July 1st and August 1st. It’s safe to say at this point those increases did not take hold. However, there is now a 3-cent increase on the table for September 1st.
It’s still too early to tell what the outcome will be, but The Plastics Exchange has taken the position that “spot conditions and supply side fundamentals certainly support the initiative.” As always, I will update you again as I know more.
If you have any questions about this update or anything else at all, please let us know. Thank you allowing us to serve your packaging needs.
Jul 18, 2014 | Uncategorized
In my previous post I told you about a resin increase of 3 to 6 cents per pound scheduled for June 1st. Now that June has come and gone, it’s safe to say that increase never took hold.
Increases for July 1st and August 1st were then put on the table. As we move to the end of July the picture is still not completely clear, but it does look like a July increase will settle in. The odds of this were strengthened by some recent events in the petrochem industry. Plastics News has reported major polyethylene suppliers “have declared force majeur production limits on that material after incidents at their Texas plants — including a July 7 fire that injured two workers at a Chevron Phillips ethylene/propylene unit in Port Arthur.”
Plastics News also added: “No timetable has been set for restart of the area affected by the incident,” and that the situations “could tighten supply in a North American PE market where demand has been lackluster so far in 2014.”
As time goes on, I will know more about the situation and update you accordingly.
If you have any questions about this update or anything else at all, please let us know. Thank you for your continued business, and we look forward to serving you.
Jun 4, 2014 | Uncategorized
The polyethylene market has been experiencing some stressful times over the last number of months. It is no secret that resin producers would love to add in more price increases. In fact, there are announced increases for June 1st and July 1st.
Some producers are holding back, others are pressing forward. As a consequence of the market uncertainty, it is likely that we won’t be able to say what the outcome of the June 1st price increase will be until July 1st. If it does indeed go through, it is possible that we will have to put the increase through in the early part of July. I anticipate that a possible June 1st increase will amount to 3% to 6% on our pricing, but I will have to update you again as July approaches.
If you have any questions or concerns, please call one of our customer service representatives at (800) 272-2634 or send us an email.
Mar 27, 2014 | Uncategorized
2013 was a year that saw three substantial increases in the price of polyethylene resin. Going into 2014, many probably hoped for a breather, but along came another increase (on top of the 2013 increases) of another 4 cents per pound. Additionally, resin producers announced intentions of raising prices again on April 1 by another 6 cents per pound.
I’ve seen that many processors and converters have come out with increase announcements for their products as a result. We are all pretty much in the same boat. Raw material is raw material and, like the price of gasoline at the pump, there is little that can be done to resist it.
Right now we’ve seen the need to pass along prior increases through the March 2014 events. As for the April increase, we don’t really know for sure whether that will take hold or not. I have hopes that it won’t. According The Plastics Exchange, “PE contracts should manage steady in March and while it is still very early, we do not see how the market could take the $.06/lb increase nominated for April.” I would tend to agree with him and hope that market realities will hold things in check at this time.
If you have any questions about this update, or if there’s anything else we can do for you, please let us know. Thank you for your continued business, and we look forward to serving you.
