Plastic Based Industrial Supply Items See Higher Prices In 2021

As a distributor of plastic based supply items including trash liners, polybags, bubble wrap®, industrial foam rolls, shrink film, stretch film, polyester strapping, plastic carton sealing tape, and polypropylene strapping, Greeno Supply has experienced an unprecedented level of industry-wide price increases from our suppliers.

These increases were caused mainly by two issues: severe inflationary pressures and numerous supply chain disruptions. The largest disruption came from the historic winter storms that hit Texas and the Gulf Coast region in February 2021.

Texas is one of the largest exporters of plastics and other petrochemical products. According to the Wall Street Journal and S&P Global Platts, the storm caused a production shutdown equal to 75% of polyethylene, 62% of polypropylene, and 57% of PVC.

Re-opening the manufacturing plants is also complex, time consuming and a dangerous process, creating even bigger lag time.

As a result, prices for polyethylene and polypropylene saw their biggest jump in 10 years. This increase likely won't ease until closer to the end of the year. In turn, this means higher spending costs for consumers, WSJ reported.

Specifically, plastic based industrial items like stretch wrap and plastic strapping have experienced 8 industry-wide price increases from 4th quarter 2020 through 1st quarter 2021, adding up to over 40 percent.

Bubble wrap® and industrial foam manufacturers have increased their prices 3 times during the same period adding up to over 30 percent in increases. Trash liners have increased 5 times in price for a total of over 25% in increases.

The adhesives supply chain was also disrupted by the storms in Texas resulting in a marketplace marred by shortages and increases. Acrylic based plastic carton sealing tapes rose over 30% due to this disruption. 

We expect these increases to partially recede towards the end of the year, but until then, our staff at Greeno Supply is helping customers navigate these increases.

Similar to how we’ve balanced the shortage of disposable safety gloves, we’re holding increases as long as possible, shopping for vendors with the best prices, and sourcing less expensive alternatives to their current supply items.