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Article: PP, PS SUPPLIERS STILL LOSING IN PRICE WARS: OVERCAPACITY, ASIAN CRISIS TAKE THE RAP
- Article from:
- Plastics News
- Article date:
- July 20, 1998
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1998 Crain Communications, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Polypropylene prices slipped another penny per pound in June. Meanwhile, polystyrene prices dropped 2 cents during May and June, erasing a 3 cent increase PS makers achieved earlier this year.
"[PP prices] are getting down to pretty dirt cheap," a major Pennsylvania-based PP buyer said. "But [PP makers] are still out there fighting, so we'll just go from there."
"Polypropylene operating rates have been in the mid- to high 80s for almost 12 months, and any time they're below 92 percent it's seen as a sign of weakness in the industry," said Robert Bauman, vice president of Chem Systems Inc., a consulting firm in Tarrytown, N.Y.
Bauman said the picture is ...