Polyurethanes
Overview
Polyurethanes are a feature of everyday life. They’re present in our furniture, bedding, clothes, shoes, buildings, and cars. The journey from base chemicals such as propylene or benzene to end-use polyurethanes involves multiple steps and chemical products. Argus can help you to navigate this complex and volatile value chain and make better commercial decisions around sales, marketing, distribution and procurement.
Argus’ polyurethanes services give you in-depth global and regional pricing insight, including feedstock analysis, in single, concise and integrated reports. In addition to pricing, you get access to global industry news and analysis of key economic drivers on a weekly basis. We cover isocyanates, propylene oxide, propylene glycols and polyols.
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Latest polyurethanes news
Browse the latest market moving news on the global polyurethanes industry.
US home building weak in June, PU buyers cautious
US home building weak in June, PU buyers cautious
Houston, 18 July (Argus) — US housing permits and starts in June remained below already depressed year-earlier levels, keeping polyurethane (PU) buyers cautious. Permits for privately-owned units, a sign of future construction, were at a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of 1.397mn units in June, according to the US Census Bureau and Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) data. This is down by 4.4pc from the same time a year prior but marks a slight 0.2pc increase from revised figures in May. Housing starts saw less of a decline, slipping by 0.5pc to an annual rate of 1.321mn units in June from a year earlier. Starts in June jumped by 4.6pc from May, led by a near 31pc monthly rise in new buildings of five or more units. Single-family housing starts in June declined by 10pc to 883,000 units from June 2024 and retracted by 4.6pc from the prior month. The latest builder sentiment survey for July sustained a weak view for the single-family housing market despite a nominal increase. The reading reversed the downward sentiment registered in June, rising by 1 point to 33, according to the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB)/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI). This is still well below builder confidence at the start of the year when January registered at 47. Residential construction has lagged all year whereas commercial and government construction projects have driven summer PU demand, according to market participants. The building blocks of polyurethanes, such as isocyanates, go into insulation, roofing applications and carpet underlay. Market participants saw the usual uptick for public school projects in June as students are out on summer holiday and anticipate it to slow by August. Renovation and re-roofing projects for polymeric MDI (PMDI) into insulation board rose in June while demand into spray foam insulation, typically used in residential settings, declined. Overall, many participants reported demand was up from the spring but not at normal levels for this time of year. A few price increase announcements came out in May for PMDI for June or July implementation depending on contracts. The announcements were out with the idea that tariffs would slow imported volumes and tighten domestic supply during the peak demand season. However, this did not occur in June as participants saw a smaller than normal lift in demand and ample domestic supply available. Argus assessed June PMDI contract prices flat from the month before. By Catherine Rabe Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
LyondellBasell agrees sale of select European assets
LyondellBasell agrees sale of select European assets
London, 17 June (Argus) — Petrochemicals firm LyondellBasell is in exclusive negotiations with Munich-based industrial investment firm Aequita regarding the sale of four olefin and polyolefin assets in Europe. The deal includes its integrated cracker and polyolefin assets in Berre, France, and Muenchsmuenster, Germany, as well as stand-alone polypropylene sites in Carrington, UK, and Tarragona, Spain. The deal is contingent on local council approval and is expected to close in the first half of 2026, LyondellBasell says. The sites were part of six put under strategic review in May 2024. The assets "represent a scaled olefins and polyolefins platform strategically located in proximity to a long-standing customer base", the firms say. Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Growth, challenges for Mexico’s chemical industry: ANIQ
Growth, challenges for Mexico’s chemical industry: ANIQ
Houston, 5 June (Argus) — The Mexico chemical industry faces challenges in the coming years, said National Chemical Industry Association (ANIQ) foreign trade director Guillermo Miller said this week. There has been a decline in chemical production from Mexico's state-owned Pemex. The company produced around 9mn metric tonnes (t) of chemicals in 2010 but only 2.5mn t in 2024. This is a challenge to the industry which needs to find formulas that allow Pemex to increase production, Miller said at the UTECH Las Americas polyurethane conference in Mexico City, Mexico. Additionally, investment has slowed into the chemicals industry in Mexico. The last peak was in 2014 for a polyethylene project. Logistics also pose a challenge for the country and increase costs as the current infrastructure is forcing product to move around to be used, said Miller. Mexico currently relies heavily on imports of chemical feedstocks, with the majority coming from the US. The availability of raw materials is extremely limited, especially for byproducts of natural gas, ethane and propane. Despite these challenges, the chemical industry, which was 1.7pc of the country's GDP in 2024, is projected to have growth of 5pc on average over the next 10 years, Miller said. There also remains a strong demand for polyurethane since Mexico is in the top five countries for car and refrigerator production and is first in television production, said Miller. The country should focus on innovation, infrastructure, certainty in investments and addressing the raw material shortage, said Miller. By Catherine Rabe Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
LyondellBasell agrees sale of select assets: Correction
LyondellBasell agrees sale of select assets: Correction
Changes financial figures in third paragraph to € from $ London, 5 June (Argus) — LyondellBasell said it is in exclusive negotiations with Munich-based industrial investment firm Aequita, regarding the sale of four olefin and polyolefin assets in Europe. The deal includes its integrated cracker and polyolefin assets in Berre, France and Muenchmuenster, Germany, and stand-alone polypropylene (PP) sites in Carrington, UK and Tarragona, Spain. The deal is contingent on consultations with local works councils and is expected to close in the first half of 2026. The sites were part of six put under strategic review in May 2024. LyondellBasell's Brindisi PP asset is not part of the deal and its future remains under review. Lyondell Basell confirmed the closure of its Maasvlakte propylene oxide-styrene monomer plant — the final site included in its initial review — in March. The companies said that the package of assets "represent a scaled olefins and polyolefins platform strategically located in proximity to a longstanding customer base and with access and connectivity to key infrastructure". LyondellBasell will contribute €265mn ($303mn) of €275mn total cash funding to support the separated business, but said that the sale would reduce its annual capex by around €110mn, reduce fixed costs by €400mn, and reduce the scope for decarbonisation investments. Decarbonisation of the Berre and Muenchmuenster sites by 42pc of 2020 levels by 2030, as previously committed to by LyondellBasell, would cost hundreds of millions of euros, or more on a faster timescale. Sale of the assets was preferential to closing them, which would incur environmental liabilities, now assumed by Aequita, LyondellBasell said. Aequita is a private equity group focussed on companies in special situations and group carve outs. It has no other chemicals businesses, but other investments include industrial and automotive parts suppliers. Managing partner Christoph Himmel said "Each site brings a strong operational foundation and a highly experienced, committed employee base. We are confident in our ability to accelerate their development". LyondellBasell indicated that it remains committed to Europe, and said the sale will concentrate its European footprint on "economically sustainable sites". Its remaining European assets are centred around two crackers and downstream units in Wesseling, Germany, PP assets in Italy and propylene oxide capacity in France and the Netherlands. Tarragona and Carrington have capacities of 390,000 t/yr and 210,000 t/yr of PP, respectively. Muenchmuenster has capacity of 400,000 t/yr of ethylene, 265,000 t/yr of propylene, 67,000 t/yr of crude C4s and downstream production of 320,000 t/yr of high-density polyethylene (HDPE). Berre has capacity to produce 465,000 t/yr of ethylene, 270,000 t/yr of propylene and 155,000 t/yr of crude C4s. The site at Berre also has downstream capacity for 320,000 t/yr of low-density polyethylene (LDPE), 350,000 t/yr of PP and 80,000 t/yr of butadiene extraction. Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
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