major converters
"We still need an increase
conner of ?00-150/tonne in order to have comfortable operating margins but this is looking unlikely before the end of the year as the market is not strong enough to absorb it," he adds.
A similar sentiment was echoed further down the chain by major converters. A large Austrian PVC pipe manufacturer termed the market "a battle [for sales] between the pipe suppliers," explaining: "At the moment, we are absorbing the [2010 total ?00/tonne] increase as we have not been able to pass it on to our own buyers - there is always one supplier who is willing to undercut to get more market share."
The situation remains the most desperate in the Iberian peninsula, although Italy, Ireland, Greece and, more recently, Hungary are also cited as poorly performing markets in terms of demand and pricing.
A Germany-based specialty PVC producer reports that Spanish consumption of both window profiles and pipe-grade resins - both used in domestic construction - had plummeted by some 40% between the highs registered at the peak of the 2008 property boom to the lowest levels in winter 2009.
And there has been little improvement in this
conner market since.
