Formosa Plastics announced to increase the price of PVC in the United States

Formosa Plastics America announced on Sept.
13 that U.
S.
PVC prices would increase by 5 cents/lb starting Sept.
15 or as contract terms allow, according to the client letter
.

The increase is on top of the previously announced 2 cents/lb increase that took effect on September 1
.

Since the housing construction boom in June 2020, U.
S.
PVC prices have risen by $1,003/ton (about 6,470 yuan/ton), driven by consumers seeking more space to work from home amid the coronavirus pandemic
.

The last assessment price on September 8 was 2017-2061 US dollars / ton (about 13,012-13,296 yuan / ton), which is a record high since Platts began to assess the market in 2001
.

Hurricane Ida made landfall in Louisiana on August 29, shutting down five U.
S.
PVC plants, representing 41% of North American PVC capacity
.

A few days later, Shintech closed its 1.
45 million-ton/year PVC plant in Freeport, Texas, due to a shortage of upstream vinyl chloride monomer feedstock, according to sources familiar with the operations of the two companies
.
Olin shut down its 835,000-ton/year vinyl chloride plant in Freeport due to equipment failure
.

The shutdown of Shintech reduced PVC capacity to 59%, but the Louisiana business unit has struggled to restart, starting with bringing upstream operations online
.

Formosa's 513,000-ton/year PVC plant in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, was one of the PVC plants that closed before Ada's landing, but was the first to start restarting, sources familiar with the company's operations said
.
The plant resumed normal output over the weekend of September 11
.