LDPE Prices | Current and Forecast
Monitor LDPE Prices Worldwide
Plans Starting at $299 USD /year
Monitor monthly LDPE price assessments covering 6 locations: United States, Europe, South America, Southeast Asia, China and Middle East. Also check LDPE 10-year price history and forecasts.
The chart below is a sample of Intratec Primary Commodity Prices. Subscribe and access now current prices of 225 commodities, including LDPE.
Data Legend. The chart above shows LDPE price assessments in USA Dollar per metric ton (USD/mt) in 6 locations, as follows:
- LDPE (Film), US (United States): LDPE (film grade), domestic contract price, dpu, United States
- LDPE (Injection), US (United States): LDPE (injection molding grade), export contract price, fob, United States
- LDPE (Film), EUR (Europe): LDPE (film grade), domestic contract price, ddp, Northwest Europe
- LDPE (GP), EUR (Europe): LDPE (general-purpose grade), domestic spot price, ddp, Northwest Europe
- LDPE (Recycled), EUR (Europe): LDPE (recycled film grade), domestic spot price, ddp, Northwest Europe
- LDPE (Film), SAM (South America): LDPE (film grade), import contract price, cfr, Brazil (netforward from fob United States)
- LDPE (Film), SEA (Southeast Asia): LDPE (film grade), import spot price, cif, India (netforward from fob Saudi Arabia)
- LDPE (Film), CN (China): LDPE (film grade), domestic spot price, exw, China
- LDPE (Film), MDE (Middle East): LDPE (film grade), export spot price, fob, Saudi Arabia (netback from cif China)
Data Use. LDPE prices are provided as an annual subscription where subscribers have access to reliable pricing data of 225 commodities worldwide. Intratec's methodology employs a structured big data strategy that utilizes advanced technologies to extract publicly available data from primary sources such as governmental trade records, statistics bureaus, and international agencies. This data is then processed through mathematical models to generate reliable assessments, published at the very beginning of each month. To better understand the data provided check Intratec Primary Commodity Prices Methodology .
Data Delivery Methods. LDPE price assessments are available via different delivery methods: (i) online charts; (ii) directly into Excel (using Intratec Add-in); (iii) in Power BI dashboards or (iv) a web API (to facilitate integration with existing workflows).
Intratec Primary Commodity Prices
Track global current prices of 225 commodities including LDPE
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Price History & Forecasts
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Plans Starting at $299 USD /year
LDPE Price Outlook. The price of LDPE (Injection, United States) decreased during March 2020 to 1,030 USD per metric ton, which represents a slight decline of 3% compared to the previous month’s value. On a year-over-year basis, the prices of LDPE (Injection, United States) decreased by 6%. Meanwhile, the average price of LDPE (Film, United States) amounted to 1,150 USD per metric ton, from 1,040 USD per metric ton one year earlier. On a month-over-month basis, the price of LDPE (Film, United States) is 3% higher than the price one month before.
The price of LDPE (Film, China) declined considerably throughout March 2020, reaching 1,000 USD per metric ton. The price is 7% lower than the average price in the previous month and 25% lower than the average price one year before. In contrast, the prices of LDPE (Film, Southeast Asia) decreased significantly during March 2020, reaching 973 USD per metric ton, which means a decline of 7% from the previous month’s price and a decline of 26% from the previous year’s price.
The prices of LDPE (Film, Middle East) experienced a significant decline of 79 USD per metric ton from the prior month's price, to 941 USD per metric ton. Such price movement meant a decrease of 8% on a monthly basis and a decrease of 26% on a yearly basis. On the other hand, in March 2020, the price of LDPE (Film, Europe) witnessed a decline of 20 USD per metric ton when compared against the previous month's price, to 1,020 USD per metric ton. The March 2020 price is 12% lower than the price one year before.
The average price of LDPE (GP, Europe) was 1,020 USD per metric ton on March 2020 – a little decrease of 20 USD per metric ton, or 2%, compared with the previous month. On a year-over-year basis, the price of LDPE (GP, Europe) is 12% lower than the price one year before.
About LDPE. LDPE (a.k.a. Low Density Polyethylene), the first thermoplastic polyolefin used commercially, is one of the three main types of polyethylene. LDPE differs from high density polyethylene (HDPE) and linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) primarily due to its unique molecular structure, where large amounts of long-chain branching, impart different rheological behavior in both shear and extension. LDPE offers an unparalleled combination of low cost, ease of fabrication and balance of physical properties (toughness, flexibility and transparency). The first thermoplastic polyolefin used commercially, LDPE is still widely used in a wide range of applications.
LDPE is a polymer of ethylene manufactured on commercial scale exclusively via free-radical-initiated, high-pressure polymerization processes. The main technologies suitable for LDPE production use autoclave or tubular reactors. It may be produced as homopolymer (LDPE itself) or as copolymer, being the most common copolymers ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA), ethylene methyl acrylate (EMA), ethylene ethyl acrylate (EEA), Ethylene Acrylic Acid (EAA), produced respectively from vinyl acetate, methyl acrylate, ethyl acrylate, and acrylic acid comonomers.
Although it offers unique properties for some applications, LDPE has been losing ground to other ethylene polymers, especially HDPE and LLDPE. It can also find other substitutes, such as polypropylene (PP), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polyvinyl chloride (PVC), biodegradable polymers, and bio-based polymers.
LDPE Handling. The majority of LDPE is sold as small pellets. Most of the LDPE used in North America is shipped in 82-ton rail cars. Other common forms of shipment are 18-ton bulk trucks, 500-kg boxes, and 25-kg bags. In other parts of the world, the most common mode of shipment is in 25-kg bags.
LDPE Production. LDPE production consists of the polymerization of ethylene, in such a way that different LDPE manufacturing routes are related to different sources of such raw material - ethylene can be manufactured, for instance, via pyrolysis of hydrocarbons, recovery from refinery products, ethanol dehydration or methanol-to-olefins plants. Raw materials and the respective production processes employed in the manufacturing of LDPE are listed below.
- Ethylene (high-pressure tubular polymerization),
- Ethylene (high-pressure autoclave polymerization)
LDPE Uses. Generically, it is possible to establish commercial grades based on LDPE applications: film and sheet, extrusion coating, injection molding, wire and cable, and blow molding. The film and sheet industry represents the largest application sector for low-density polyethylene, constituting approximately 50% of North American demand. Resins used for films typically have melt indices ranging from 0.2 to 6 and densities from 0.917 to 0.930. Typically, the extrusion coating process employs resins with melt indices between 4 and 10 and densities from 0.920 to 0.930, particularly those produced in autoclave reactors, with the essential combination of neck-in and drawdown. One of the resin specifications commonly used in extrusion coating is the general-purpose grade. The injection molding grade is obtained by injecting molten LDPE into a metal mold at high temperature and pressure. The resulting solid article, taking the mold's shape, is then cooled and extracted.
Although linear low-density polyethylene (LLDPE) and blends of LDPE and LLDPE have gained wide prominence in the film market because of their superior physical properties, LDPE remains preferred in specific film applications requiring characteristics like easy extrusion, clarity, and low taste and odor. LLDPE has significantly entered the injection molding market (e.g., lids, buckets, toys, and freezer containers) because of its higher melt index, which contributes to increased production speed and cost reduction. Nevertheless, LDPE is still chosen for applications where clarity is necessary, especially in products like caps and closures. On the other hand, the resulting structure of extrusion coating processes is used in various food packaging applications such as snack food packaging, juice boxes, and milk containers. LLDPE remains restricted in this market.
