The Plastic Resin Buyer Brief

ResinSmart

If you buy plastic resin for a living, this podcast is your edge. Hosted by the experts behind ResinSmart, The Plastic Resin Buyer Brief gives you fast, focused updates on the market forces moving resin prices—and the strategies that smart buyers are using to save money, reduce risk, and make better decisions. No fluff. No filler. Just the information you actually need—delivered by sourcing pros who’ve managed billions in resin spend. Subscribe now to stay ahead of the curve in polyethylene, polypropylene, and beyond. Learn more: www.resinsmart.ai Follow us on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/resin-technology-inc Watch episodes on YouTube: www.youtube.com/@RTiGetResinSmart

  1. 18h ago

    It's Not Settled: Two Resin Markets and Your Buyer Questions | Resin Market Moves LIVE + AMA

    PE and PP producers have a supply story; the benzene chain has falling feedstock. Kevin Mekaru and Tyler Wheeler answer resin buyers' questions on both, live. The resin market split in two this week, and so did the negotiations buyers are having with suppliers. On one side, polyethylene and polypropylene. Formosa declared force majeure at Point Comfort, and LyondellBasell's Lake Charles plant stays down into November. Kevin Mekaru explains why a 7¢ nomination is not a settlement, why you should ask whether your grade is even made at the plant that's down, and how to find the margin inside a 3¢ PP letter. On the other side, the benzene chain. Benzene spot fell from $4.78 to $4.10 a gallon while polycarbonate and ABS letters kept arriving. Tyler Wheeler explains how to negotiate when the feedstock turns mid-conversation, and why this fall is the moment to reset baselines for 2027. Then Michael Workman takes the audience's questions on 2027 contract terms beyond price, and on how a supplier's year-end sales targets can become a better baseline for next year. Chapter markers: 00:00 Welcome 03:03 Two resin markets 04:31 PE, PP, PVC and PET 07:10 PS, nylon, PC and ABS 09:58 Lock in or wait? 12:57 Nominations are not settlements 14:47 One force majeure, a market-wide increase? 16:32 The negotiable margin in a PP letter 18:21 Falling benzene, rising PC letters 20:53 Will nylon come back? 24:51 The October PGP settlement 26:53 PVC 28:51 2027 contract terms 32:02 The seller's year-end playbook 35:18 Trust but verify 36:47 Free benchmark and AMI Cleveland Links:→ Request your free benchmark assessment→ Subscribe to the newsletter→ Watch on YouTube

  2. Oct 26

    Cost or Push? Spot Benzene Falls Below the Contract | Resin Market Moves, Week of October 26, 2026

    Spot benzene just fell below the October contract behind this month's PS and nylon increase letters. Michael Workman explains what that means for buyers and lays out a three-step method for separating real feedstock cost from margin, plus a quick read on where pressure sits across the market. Chapters 00:00 Spot benzene falls below the contract 00:45 Where the pressure sits 01:20 PS and nylon: pay the real part 03:00 Separating cost from margin 03:55 Close Links:  Newsletter YouTube

  3. Oct 19

    The Answer Changed: PE and PP Tighten, Benzene Climbs | Resin Market Moves, Week of October 19, 2026

    September tightened PE and PP supply. Here's the argument that replaces "nothing has changed" on your October and November letters. Last week, Resin Market Moves gave buyers two questions for every increase letter: Is the cost real? Has supply tightened? This week, the second answer flipped for polyethylene and polypropylene. Michael Workman explains what that does to your leverage. Polyethylene: Producers are pushing up to 7¢/lb, and September inventories drew down sharply as sales outpaced production. "Nothing has changed" no longer works. But one month isn't a trend, with exports softer and Golden Triangle's new capacity coming online. Negotiate how big, how fast and what protects you in November, and don't lock forward volume at announced prices.Polypropylene: Nothing proposed for October, but LyondellBasell and TotalEnergies have announced 3¢ for November. Lake Charles is offline into November and two more producers expect downtime in Q4. Confirm your September decrease and place October volume before the calendar turns.Polystyrene and nylon: The October benzene contract finalized about 80¢ above September, and spot rose another 25¢ this week. On nylon 6, the asks run from 14¢ to 20¢ against the same benzene. That spread isn't feedstock. Pay the real part and challenge the rest.ABS, PC, PET and PVC: Costs are climbing on the first three, but no letters yet, so don't volunteer. PVC buyers have the market. Hold, and ask for a decrease where your contract allows.He closes with the rule for the week: when the answer changes, change the argument. Michael, Kevin Mekaru and Riley Olsen are walking PACK EXPO International at McCormick Place in Chicago this week. If you're there, bring your October letters. Email mworkman@rtiglobal.com to find a time. Chapter markers: 00:00 The supply answer changed00:24 ResinSmart at PACK EXPO00:52 Polyethylene01:42 Polypropylene02:26 The benzene chain: PS and nylon03:22 ABS, PC, PET and PVC03:54 Change the argumentLinks: → Request Your Benchmark Assessment→ Read this week's newsletter→ Watch on YouTube

  4. Oct 13

    A Price Increase Letter Is a Nomination: Lessons from MAPP 2026 | with Michael Workman

    Brian Balboa and Michael Workman unpack the MAPP Benchmarking & Best Practices Conference: what processors are worried about heading into Q4, what happened when buyers negotiated the same resin account twice, and the one question to ask on every line of your next increase letter. At the MAPP Benchmarking & Best Practices Conference in Indianapolis, processors came with one question: what should I be paying for the resin I buy? ResinSmart's Brian Balboa talks with Michael Workman, Executive Director at ResinSmart, about what he heard at the show and what buyers can take into their next supplier conversation. In this episode: Why MAPP feels different from a trade show: processors comparing notes, with nobody there to be sold toThe three concerns raised most often: the wave of Q4 increase letters, buying knowledge that's close to retirement, and visibility into how you're doing on what you buyInside the live negotiation workshop, where the same account was negotiated twice, first on instinct and then with what each grade should costWhy an increase letter is a nomination, the seller's opening position, and always a mix of cost and marginThe two most expensive buyer mistakes: anchoring on the supplier's number, and giving away term without getting anything backHow processors are approaching cost and margin heading into Q4What blackjack has to do with resin buyingThe one thing to do differently in your next negotiationChapter markers: 00:00 Welcome and MAPP 2026 recap 00:47 Why MAPP isn't a typical trade show 02:14 The 3 concerns processors raised most 03:40 Same resin account, negotiated twice 05:58 The biggest mistake resin buyers make 07:35 Heading into Q4: cost, margin and procurement 09:58 Other MAPP sessions worth noting 11:21 The best card player at ResinSmart 12:12 One thing to do in your next negotiation 13:16 Where to learn more Links: → Watch Resin Buyer vs. Seller, Pt 2 on YouTube→ Request a ResinSmart benchmark→ Follow ResinSmart on LinkedIn

  5. Oct 12

    Is the Cost Real? Why September PE Stuck and How to Read October's Letters | Resin Market Moves

    September's PE increase stuck in a soft market. Here's how to sort October's resin letters by their reason before you answer them. Last week, Resin Market Moves said September's polyethylene increase had stalled. It didn't. Five cents went through, even with comfortable supply, soft domestic demand and building inventories. Michael Workman opens by owning that call. The increase took three things: producer discipline, an export outlet for extra volume, and enough buyers who said yes. Two of those are out of your control. The third isn't. From there, he sorts October's letters by their reason: Polyethylene: 7¢/lb on the table with ethylene flat and supply healthy. It's a push, so negotiate it, and don't commit forward volume at announced prices.Polypropylene: September settled 2¢ lower, but Lake Charles is down into November and two more producers expect outages. Confirm the decrease reached your invoice and build modest coverage before November.Polystyrene and nylon: The October benzene contract settled 70¢ higher while spot came off its highs. Pay the real feedstock share and challenge everything above it.ABS, PC, PVC and PET: No letters, or none that should stick. Don't volunteer, and hold firm.He closes with three questions for any increase letter: Is the cost real? Has supply tightened? What happens if I say no? Chapter markers 00:00 We got September PE wrong 00:31 Why the increase stuck 00:59 Two questions before you answer a letter 01:30 Polyethylene 02:23 Polypropylene 03:03 The benzene chain: PS and nylon 03:52 ABS, PC, PVC and PET 04:30 What happens if you say no? Links:→ Request Your Benchmark Assessment → Read this week's newsletter → Watch on YouTube

  6. Oct 9

    Buyer vs. Seller, Part 2: The $201K Increase Letter

    A resin buyer saves $84K on a renewal, then gets a $201K increase letter 90 days later. Tyler Wheeler and Michael Workman play it out live: same buyer, same seller, same five resins. The only thing that changes is what the buyer knows. In this live session, Michael Workman plays a distributor account manager and Tyler Wheeler plays the purchasing manager at Harbor Point Molding, a custom injection molder with 8.5 million pounds of annual resin spend and a $300K savings target from the CFO. Round 1 is the annual renewal: polypropylene homopolymer, FDA copolymer, ABS, nylon 6 and a glass-filled compound. The buyer trades a 24-month term for a penny on polypropylene and saves $84K. Round 2 starts 90 days later with a $201K price increase letter. Using a line-by-line brief, the buyer reopens all five lines, challenges the index, caps the nylon increase, moves ABS from $1.90 to $1.68 and the compound from $2.85 to $2.25. In this episode: Why a 24-month term should never be given away for freeHow an increase letter reopens every line, not just the ones it namesThe question that moved ABS 22 cents a pound and the FDA grade zeroIndex drift: when the index prints 2 cents and the cost moved 1Three questions to ask of any increase letterQ&A: additives, masterbatch, and telling a real increase from margin expansionAll companies, producers, prices and headlines in this session are illustrative. Watch the video.Read the transcript.The Round 2 brief. Benchmark assessment.

  7. Oct 5

    Same Account, Negotiated Twice: What MAPP Taught Us About October | Resin Market Moves, Week of October 5, 2026

    At last week's MAPP Benchmarking & Best Practices Conference in Indianapolis, a room of processors negotiated the same resin account twice: first with instinct and a competing quote, then with a cost-based target range.  Michael Workman shares what happened in the room, including a live demo between a former buyer and a former seller built on five questions. He then applies the masterclass lessons to October's market. Polyethylene's 7¢ October ask comes with only a half-cent ethylene move behind it, so hold your number. Polypropylene's September contracts fell 2¢ with PGP, so make sure your mechanism delivers it. In the benzene chain, with AdvanSix and BASF announcing 14–15¢ on nylon and PS increases of 9–10¢ expected, pay the real part and challenge the rest. He closes with the five questions to bring to your next supplier call and an invitation to the October 7 Pt 2 live session.   Links:Request Your Benchmark AssessmentRegister for Pt 2 (October 7)Watch on YouTube

  8. Sep 28

    Read the Dealer's Upcard: Resin Market Moves, Week of September 28, 2026

    At a blackjack table, the dealer shows you one card and keeps the other face down. Resin producers are doing the same thing heading into Q4. Increase letters are out on polyethylene (5¢ in September plus 7¢ in October), polycarbonate (10¢ from a single producer), PA66 (8¢ from BASF), PA6 (5–8¢), and polystyrene, with talk of up to 10¢ for October. Michael Workman flips over the hole card. Supply is comfortable, inventories are healthy, and almost every increase on the board is being pushed into the market rather than pulled by it. A pushed increase needs the buyer's agreement to stick. Michael sorts nine resins into three buyer calls. PP is the one HIT: no initiative, flat PGP at 38¢/lb, and a likely lower September monomer settlement. PE, PVC, ABS, and PET are STANDS. For PE, the delayed 2-million-metric-ton/year Golden Triangle HDPE complex is still capacity coming to market. The benzene chain (PS, PC, PA66, PA6) is a DOUBLE DOWN: benzene jumped 8% to $5.75/gal while WTI fell more than $7/bbl, so September is where buyer leverage sits before October's cost push arrives. He closes with three questions to ask yourself before every supplier call and details on where to find ResinSmart at the MAPP Benchmarking & Best Practices Conference in Indianapolis. Request Your Benchmark Assessment.

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About

If you buy plastic resin for a living, this podcast is your edge. Hosted by the experts behind ResinSmart, The Plastic Resin Buyer Brief gives you fast, focused updates on the market forces moving resin prices—and the strategies that smart buyers are using to save money, reduce risk, and make better decisions. No fluff. No filler. Just the information you actually need—delivered by sourcing pros who’ve managed billions in resin spend. Subscribe now to stay ahead of the curve in polyethylene, polypropylene, and beyond. Learn more: www.resinsmart.ai Follow us on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/resin-technology-inc Watch episodes on YouTube: www.youtube.com/@RTiGetResinSmart

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