LONDON (GC Intelligence) – As 2019 is coming to an end, PC (polycarbonate) market focus has now switched to 2020, particularly on those segments that have been struggling the most, such as automotive and the industrial sector.
Market feedback from all sectors so far has been rather bleak, leading to expectations that demand will continue to struggle during the early part of next year.
There is some belief that the decrease in demand in the auto industry may be easing as destocking may be coming to an end, with some participants already noting a slight improvement from some clients in the sector.
On balance, however, most sectors, including automotive, are slowing down and it is possible that this will continue into 2020.
The twin headwinds of Brexit and tariff disputes will continue to place much uncertainty on the market, keeping confidence low and leading to cautious buying.
The seasonal recovery in the spring highlighted by the forecast of a weak upward movement in prices remains at risk of a downward revision.
At the same time, the current forecast points to an end to further decreases.
But there will be some time before fundamentals improve enough to allow producers to start to restore margins close to levels seen before this latest downward trend which started in 2018.
A breakthrough in tariff disputes and Brexit will surely provide such support, but in the meantime, there is very little to suggest that there will be an improvement from the status quo.
In fact, given the latest news regarding tariffs, not only involving China but also Europe, the situation could get worse in 2020.
As such, there is a good chance that PC prices will be bouncing along the bottom at least until the first half of 2020.
NOTE: For price indices, forecasts, and a more in-depth analysis take a look at the GC INTELLIGENCE® Market Reports…→