September polyethylene increase takes hold despite soft demand and healthy supply.

FORT WORTH, Texas, Oct. 21, 2026 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Resin buyers face another round of pricing pressure in October after a 5-cent-per-pound September polyethylene (PE) increase took hold despite soft domestic demand and growing inventories.

"September showed that an increase can go through even when supply and demand fundamentals don't necessarily support it," said Michael Workman, executive director of commercial at ResinSmart. "That doesn't mean buyers should automatically accept the next one. They need to understand what's changed in the market and whether the increase is supported by actual costs or tighter supply."

Dow and NOVA have since announced additional 7-cent-per-pound increases for October, even as PE availability remains healthy and spot ethylene holds steady at 23 cents per pound. With little change in market fundamentals since September, buyers have reason to challenge the full increase.

ResinSmart says October pricing conditions are mixed. Some resin categories face legitimate feedstock pressure, while others still offer room to negotiate.

Polypropylene (PP) remains favorable for buyers, with September contracts settling 2 cents per pound lower and no October increases proposed. However, an extended outage at LyondellBasell's Lake Charles facility and additional downtime expected in November could affect supply later in the quarter.

Meanwhile, higher benzene contract prices give producers a stronger cost argument for polystyrene (PS) and nylon increases. The October benzene contract settled at $5.27 per gallon, up 70 cents from September, though spot benzene has eased from its highs. ResinSmart is tracking potential PS increases of 9 to 10 cents per pound and proposed nylon increases of 14 to 15 cents per pound.

"There's a difference between an increase driven by actual feedstock costs and one that's simply an attempt to improve margins," Workman said. "Buyers should be asking suppliers to show how much of an increase is tied to real cost changes, and challenging anything beyond that."

Other markets remain more favorable for buyers. PVC's proposed September increase failed, PET pricing is steady, and neither ABS nor polycarbonate has an October increase announced.

The developments reinforce the importance of evaluating each resin independently. September's PE increase shows that an increase can succeed without significant supply constraints, but buyers still have room to negotiate based on feedstock costs, material availability and demand.

"The key is knowing where the pressure is real and where buyers still have leverage," Workman said. "Procurement teams that understand the market fundamentals behind each increase will be in a stronger position when negotiating."

ResinSmart will continue monitoring October contract settlements, feedstock movements and producer initiatives as buyers navigate pricing decisions through the fourth quarter.

About ResinSmart

ResinSmart is a buyer-side resin procurement intelligence and advisory platform powered by RTi Global, which has served plastics processors and manufacturers since 1998. The RESIN8™ benchmarking engine is built on more than 3 billion pounds of buyer-side transaction data, providing SKU-level price benchmarks, market intelligence and negotiation guidance independent of producer-side indexes. For more information, visit resinsmart.ai.

Media contact

Michael Workman, ResinSmart

mworkman@rtiglobal.com • 214-984-2977

Media Contact

Ashley Jones, MCA, 1 330-324-4755, ashley@marcomcontent.com, https://www.marcomcontentbyashley.com/

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SOURCE ResinSmart