美國聚乙烯（PE）出口量已占到國內產量的35%

美國PE出口量接近疫情前2020年3月的40%

美國國內PE需求也強勁

據天然氣新聞2022年6月2日報道，美國陶氏化學公司首席執行官菲特林表示，盡管物流和供應鏈仍存在障礙，但美國聚乙烯（PE）出口量已幾乎恢復到疫情暴發前的水平。

菲特林是在一次能源會議上發表上述講話的。他表示，美國的PE出口量已達到國內產量的約35%，接近2020年3月因疫情關閉導致需求萎縮和擠壓出口之前流出的40%。  

到去年年初前，美國PE出口已基本恢復，去年2月中旬的嚴寒迫使石化企業大范圍停產數周，導致庫存耗盡。美國PE生產商還在去年夏天減少了PE出口，以便在8月和9月之前補充庫存，這兩個月通常是美國最容易發生颶風的月份。

美國國際貿易委員會公布的數據顯示，美國2020年出口了600萬噸PE, 2021年PE出口量下降18%，至498萬噸。  

數據顯示，在今年前3個月，美國出口近148萬噸PE，比去年第一季度的147萬噸略有增加，但比2020年第一季度疫情前的164萬噸下降10%。  

菲特林說：“這是不平衡的，但我們已經在看到供應鏈以及我們從美國出口PE能力的改善。”“我們仿佛回到了2020年3月的水平，我認為這是一個好跡象。 ”

市場參與者表示，美國樹脂出口受到阻礙，因為集裝箱進口大量涌入，導致卡車司機供應不足。 這也導致包裝好的樹脂被困在倉庫里，等待裝入空集裝箱，然后運到港口裝船。

菲特林表示，PE需求仍在增長，達到GDP的1.3-1.5倍，美國國內PE消費量比去年同期增長7%-8%。 這種需求來自于包裝、輕量化汽車、5G基礎設施電纜的塑料外殼以及隨著員工返回辦公室健康和美容產品的建設和包裝。  

他說，更高的能源和原材料成本正在轉嫁給消費者。陶氏化學公司一直在關注這些動態，尤其是價格能在當前水平上維持多久，以及價格會在什么時候吸走需求。

菲特林表示，6月份美國國內PE價格每磅7美分的漲幅仍未確定，在歐洲，4月份PE價格每噸已上漲50歐元。

李峻 編譯自 天然氣新聞

原文如下：

US PE exports inching toward pre-pandemic levels: Dow CEO

Outflows at 35% of domestic production

Close to pre-pandemic 40% of March 2020

US demand also strong

US polyethylene exports have nearly recovered to pre-pandemic levels despite logistics and supply chain snags, Dow Chemical CEO Jim Fitterling said June 2.

He said at an energy conference that US outflows have reached about 35% of domestic production, which is near the 40% that was moving out in March 2020 before COVID shutdowns pinched demand and squeezed outflows.

Exports had largely recovered by early 2021 when a deep freeze in mid-February forced widespread weeks-long petrochemical shutdowns, which left inventories depleted. PE producers also reduced exports through the summer of 2021 to restock ahead of August and September, which typically are the most hurricane-prone months.

The US exported 6 million mt of PE in 2020, and outflows fell 18% to 4.98 million mt in 2021, US International Trade Commission data showed.

In the first three months of 2022 the US exported nearly 1.48 million mt of PE, up slightly from 1.47 million in Q1 2021, and down 10% from 1.64 million mt in pre-pandemic Q1 2020, the data showed.

"It's been uneven, but we have been seeing improvement in the supply chain, our ability to ship out of the US," Fitterling said. "We're kind of back to March 2020 levels, which is, I think, a good sign."

Market participants say US resin exports have been stymied as an influx of containerized imports have commanded an already short supply of chassis and truck drivers to move containers. That has left packaged resin stuck in warehouses waiting to be loaded into empty containers and transported to ports to be loaded onto ships.

Fitterling said PE demand was still growing at 1.3 to 1.5 times GDP, and domestic consumption was seen up 7% to 8% from year-ago levels. That demand stems from packaging, lightweighting vehicles, plastic covering for cables in 5G infrastructure, construction and packaging for health and beauty products as workers return to offices.

He said higher energy and raw material costs were being passed to consumers. The company was watching those dynamics, particularly how long prices can stay at current levels and at what point prices siphon demand.

He said domestic PE price increases of 7 cents/lb for May and 7 cents/lb for June remain unsettled, and in Europe PE prices rose Eur50/mt in April.