Platts discontinued FOT Brazil polyolefins assessments

Platts, part of S&P Global Commodity Insights, has discontinued its Free-on-Truck (FOT) Brazil polyolefins assessments, effective July 1, 2022.

Platts first proposed changes to its weekly South American polyolefins assessments in a subscriber note published Dec. 10: https://www.spglobal.com/commodity-insights/en/our-methodology/subscriber-notes/021022-S&P Global-proposes-changes-to-south-american-polyolefins-assessments.

The changes affected high-density polyethylene (HDPE film, injection and blowmolding), low-density polyethylene (LDPE), linear low-density polyethylene (LLDPE), homopolymer and copolymer of polypropylene.

Platts observed diminishing volume in trade done on an FOT Brazil basis with a sustained shift toward prevalence of delivered incoterms, such as carrier-paid-to (CPT) and cost and freight (CFR). The changes are aimed at aligning Platts coverage with current industry standards.

These assessments had reflected the spot value of Brazil's exports to Paraguay and Uruguay by road transport.

The full description of the Americas petrochemicals assessments can be found in the published specifications guide: https://www.spglobal.com/platts/PlattsContent/_assets/_files/en/our-methodology/methodology-specifications/americas-petrochemicals.pdf.

The affected assessments were previously published on Platts Petrochemical Alert fixed pages PCA 561, PCA 1557, PCA 1559, PCA 1555, PCA 1554, PCA 1560, PCA 1558, PCA 1556, PCA 0245, PCA 0275, PCA 0267, PCA 0271, PCA 0246, PCA 0283, PCA 0275, on the Platts Dimensions Pro and Platts Market Center, in Polymerscan publication and in the Platts price database under the codes listed below.

The discontinued assessments are:

CODE Mavg Description

PHATX00 PHATY03 HDPE HMW film FOT Brazil

PHATZ00 PHAUA03 HDPE injection FOT Brazil

PHATV00 PHATW03 HDPE blowmolding FOT Brazil

PHAUD00 PHAUE03 LDPE FOT Brazil

PHATT00 PHATU03 LLDPE butene FOT Brazil

PHATL00 PHATM03 PP Co-polymer FOT Brazil

PHATN00 PHATO03 PP Homopolymer FOT Brazil

Separately, Platts launched CFR Mercosur polyolefins assessments, effective April 6, 2022.

The new weekly assessments reflect CFR Mercosur deliveries, basis main ports in Paraguay and Uruguay. Platts currently does not observe significant price differentials between the values in these locations and considers Asuncion and Montevideo ports as par ports.

Platts also considers pricing information pertinent to Argentina deliveries, which is subject to normalization.

Platts continues collecting information reflecting other incoterms and transportation modes, including by road transport on CPT basis, and may normalize this information to the standard.

The normalization is based on the data collected from the market and tested through the publication of heards on a regular basis. Platts has not observed a price differential between CPT and CFR prices.

The new assessments reflect material of various origins, including but not limited to Brazil, the US, China, Taiwan, Middle East, South Korea, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, etc.

The new assessments reflect parcels of 100-500 mt, delivered at the par ports 20-40 days forward from the day of publication. The new assessments mirror the specifications of the existing polyolefins assessments and reflect the following material:

Product MFI/MFR

LDPE 0.1-3.5

LLDPE butene-1 1

HDPE injection 2-25

HDPE film 2-16

HDPE blowmolding 2-16

PP homopolymer 0.8-35

PP copolymer 1.5-25

The CFR Mercosur assessments are published on the Platts Petrochemical Alert fixed pages PCA 1561, PCA 1557, PCA 1559, PCA 1555, PCA 1554, PCA 1560, PCA 1558, PCA 1556, PCA 0245, PCA 0275, PCA 0267, PCA 0271, PCA 0246, PCA 0283, PCA 0275, on the Platts Dimensions Pro and Platts Market Center, in Polymerscan publication and in the Platts price database under the codes listed below:

Symbol Description

HDCAC03 HDPE B/Mldg CFR Mercosur MAvg

HDCAC00 HDPE B/Mldg CFR Mercosur Weekly

HDCAB03 HDPE Film CFR Mercosur MAvg

HDCAB00 HDPE Film CFR Mercosur Weekly

HDCAA03 HDPE Inj CFR Mercosur MAvg

HDCAA00 HDPE Inj CFR Mercosur Weekly

LDCAA03 LDPE CFR Mercosur MAvg

LDCAA00 LDPE CFR Mercosur Weekly

LDCAB03 LLDPE Butene CFR Mercosur MAvg

LDCAB00 LLDPE Butene CFR Mercosur Weekly

PPCSB03 PP Copol CFR Mercosur MAvg

PPCSB00 PP Copol CFR Mercosur Weekly

PPCSA03 PP Homo CFR Mercosur MAvg

PPCSA00 PP Homo CFR Mercosur Weekly

Please send any comments and questions to petchems@spglobal.com with a copy to pricegroup@spglobal.com.

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