Current situation:
- Producer prices for HDPE pipe were down -.6% M/M (.4% last month) and were down -.7% Y/Y (up .4% Y/Y last month). Plastic pipe fittings and unions were down -.6% M/M (.6% last month) and up 5.4% Y/Y (up 7.6% last month).
- The HDPE industry is expected to grow at a 3.8% CAGR from 2019-2024 according to Lucintel.
Key factors that could affect supply or price:
- Home construction is expected to accelerate on a regional basis in the front-half of 2019. Forecasts suggest a lukewarm 2% growth rate in new single-family housing starts in 2019 with the primary growth driver being mid-market priced homes (30% of all new starts will be for starter-homes). Reconstruction and remodeling activities in disaster-impacted regions in California and along the East Coast will keep demand very strong in those markets through mid-year.
- Some of the fastest demographically-growing markets include Florida, North Carolina, Texas, Georgia, and Washington State.
