Ellie Horvath
The market for ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) is characterised by high volatility along, with prices hitting record highs in 2022. When this is coupled with supply chain weaknesses compounded by global outages, there has never been a more pressing time for context and clarity of market conditions. This created demand for trusted insight that would provide market visibility, allowing both buyers and sellers to make better decisions.
ICIS, a global leader in independent commodity intelligence services for energy and chemicals, has launched a global EVA price assessment service which was developed, building on existing European and Asia-Pacific capabilities. This first ever global EVA price assessment service utilises the experience of the ICIS team, market relationships and proven methodology, ensuring a comprehensive and trusted understanding of the factors that impact this volatile market. These insights will enable smart production and selling decisions, as well as effective risk management by assessing the global impact of new capacity or plant disruptions. Weekly pricing analysis, assessments, insight, supply and demand drivers, a short-term outlook, as well as intelligence on upstream markets, provide a comprehensive and transparent market perspective.
Redwan Hoque, Head of Commercial Strategy – Chemicals, at ICIS said: “It has been an unprecedented year in the global EVA market, with prices hitting record highs, and supply tightness that dominated the first half of the year. Logistics and supply chain issues, which continue to plague industries globally, have severely disrupted trade flows. For buyers and sellers alike, it has never been more important to have global visibility of the price and supply and demand drivers of EVA to strategise and enhance profit potential.”
The introduction of global EVA coverage will provide the industry with unprecedented transparency, allowing the identification of opportunities for buying and selling while mitigating risk. The launch of global EVA coverage, together with ICIS’ three global market leading assessments that influence EVA prices: polyethylene (PE), acetic acid, and vinyl acetate monomer (VAM), will provide market participants with unprecedented transparency and a deeper understanding of the key drivers across the entire PE sector.
About EVA
EVA is the copolymer of ethylene and vinyl acetate. It is a highly versatile and is valued for its high elasticity, sealability, low melting point, and clarity. Applications include everything from car wax, moldable mouthguards, and foam shoes to nicotine patches, adhesive resin formulations, wire and electrical cables compounding, and solar panels. It is produced using the same process as low-density polyethylene (LDPE). Production can be switched between the EVA and LDPE, depending on which is more profitable.
In North America, EVA supplies have flipped from tight to balanced in the second half of the year after demand and pricing had been constrained in the first half of the year. EVA supplies have lengthened along with weaker demand and improved feedstock supplies as both ethylene and VAM have seen increased supply due to slower derivative demand.
ICIS follows the Asian EVA market closely, on a weekly basis, to enable consumers to understand current pricing volatility. Demand in China is partly driven by the country’s low carbon policy. High VA grades are the encapsulating agent in solar panels, providing good radiation transmission and low degradability in sunlight. New domestic capacity in China was launched in 2021 and suppliers with ‘swing’ plants needed to know when to switch from LDPE to EVA in response to demand and higher margins. LDPE price in China fell to 2-year low in 2022, while the price of EVA is relatively firm supported by the boosting photovoltaic industry, producers with LDPE and EVA switching devices are more willing to produce EVA instead of PE in the year.
In Europe, EVA traded at record high prices this year amid severe shortages, before improving supply caused volatility and sent prices on a downward trend. Trade flows were heavily disrupted by logistics and supply chain issues, leading to the possibility of long-term changes in product flows. Supply and demand balances pushed price spreads between EVA and PE much further, before downwards pressure brought levels closer again. With supply improving, the main concern for the market is falling demand amid the economic uncertainties in the region.
About ICIS
ICIS is a trusted source of global commodity intelligence for the energy, chemical and fertilizer industry. We are a division of RELX, a FTSE 15 company with a market cap of £43.4 billion and an employee base of over 30,000 experts across 40 countries.
At ICIS, we help businesses make strategic decisions, mitigate risk, improve productivity, and capitalise on new opportunities. We make some of the world’s most important markets more trusted and predictable by providing data services, thought leadership and decision tools. As a result of our unmatched global presence, we can deliver targeted connected intelligence to influence thousands of decisions across supply chains every single day. We shape the world by connecting markets to optimise the world’s valuable resources. With a global team of more than 600 experts, ICIS has employees based in London, New York, Houston, Karlsruhe, Milan, Mumbai, Singapore, Guangzhou, Beijing, Shanghai, Dubai, Sao Paulo, Seoul, Tokyo and Perth.
About RELX
RELX is a global provider of information and analytics for professional and business customers across industries. The Group serves customers in more than 180 countries and has offices in about 40 countries. It employs approximately 30,000 people of whom almost half are in North America. RELX PLC is a London listed holding company which owns 52.9% of RELX Group. RELX NV is an Amsterdam listed holding company which owns 47.1% of RELX Group. The shares are traded on the London, Amsterdam and New York Stock Exchanges using the following ticker symbols: London: REL; Amsterdam: REN; New York: RELX and RENX. Total market capitalisation is approximately £43.4bn | €51.9bn | $59.2bn.
