Extensive Maintenance Supposed to Buoy PP Prices
Although the recovery of downstream demand has been relatively sluggish after the Spring Festival holiday, the gradually increased maintenance of PP units led to controllable inventory pressure, especially in February. The daily production share of PP raffia hovered at 15.07% recently, up 3.96 percentage points from early February. Intensive maintenance eased the PP supply pressure.
The bullish effect brought by unit maintenance is expected to continue in the short run. According to SCI’s research, the period from March to June was the maintenance peak season in H1 2025. The output loss caused by unit maintenance is likely to rise by 17.37% MOM to 581kt in March, and it may further climb from April to May. In terms of location, PP unit maintenance may be seen in North China, East China, South China and Northwest China, which may alleviate the overall supply pressure in China.
2025 China PP Unit Maintenance Plans
Remarks: RS = restart, SD = shutdown
H1 2025 China PP Capacity Expansion
In terms of capacity expansion, the 500kt/a 3# line at Inner Mongolia Baofeng Coal-Based New Materials is projected to come on stream in early March. The commissioning of other units in the above chart may be postponed. Generally, PP supply may not be ample because of extensive unit maintenance and possible delay of unit startup, supporting the PP market price somewhat.
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