Current situation:
- Producer prices for HDPE pipe were up 4.1% M/M (up 10% last month) and were up 40.5% Y/Y (up 35% Y/Y last month). Plastic pipe fittings and unions were up 5.1% M/M (up 6.4% last month) and were up 23.3% Y/Y (up 17.3% last month).
Key factors that could affect supply or price:
- Plastics and resin supplies remain tight. Supply chain backlogs are still chronic across the country and many imports of resins and products are delayed by COVID impacts in source countries (primarily China).
Some companies with stable inventories are holding off on reorders until prices ease, many expect that to happen by middle or late summer. Some products, however, could be in short supply until the end of the year. Recent reports suggest that some source products are backordered by more than 6 months.
