HDPE Prices

Chart Description. Intratec provides HDPE prices in several countries, as follows:

Chart Instructions. Hover the mouse over the series to view the respective HDPE prices plotted. You can filter a given HDPE price series by clicking on the respective legend label, right above the chart.

About HDPE. HDPE (a.k.a. High Density Polyethylene) is one of the three main types of polyethylene, figuring among the most used polymers worldwide. It is the most widely used polyethylene resin. HDPE may be either ethylene homopolymer or a copolymer of ethylene and alpha-olefins (1-hexene, 1-butene). Polyethylene is considered to be high density when having density greater than 0.94 g/cm³. Despite having density only marginally higher than that of low-density polyethylene (LDPE), HDPE presents larger strength-to-density ratio, due to its little branching and consequent stronger intermolecular forces. The high demand for polyethylene is in large part due to a combination of the availability of ethylene raw material, its relatively low cost and a wide variety of applications.

Chemical Formula. (C2H4)n

Commercial Grades. High density

Uses. HDPE has attractive processing properties, such as high chemical stability and low melting point. Therefore, it may be processed by many conventional techniques. Also, it presents high tensile strength for its weight and is weather resistant. The demand for HDPE resins is mainly associated with blow and injection molding end-uses, representing most of the total production. It is presented below HDPE major end-uses, as well as respective examples of finished products: film and sheet (food packaging and shopping bags); injection molding (garbage cans, housewares, food containers, pallets and crates); blow molding (detergent bottles and drums); pipe and tubing (water pipes). Other applications are spun-bonded fabric (covers, protective clothing, envelopes, paper substitute), wire and cable coating.

Raw Materials & Production Processes.

• Ethylene + alpha-olefins (solution polymerization process)
• Ethylene (Ziegler slurry process)
• Ethylene (gas-phase polymerization)

To know more about HDPE production processes, click here.

Derivatives. polyethylene, chlorinated; Polyethylene wax, high-density.

Methodology. The pricing data presented are, if not otherwise indicated, volume-weighted average transaction prices including contract and spot transactions in the locations specified. The information provided is obtained from gathering and refining of trade data officially reported for the respective countries (i.e., governmental agencies, institutions related to foreign trade and industry publications). For further details check our Methodology.