Congratulations to Peggy Schipper
The Vinyl Institute (VI) presented Peggy Schipper, Senior Sales Associate at Performance Additives LLC, its 2022 Industry Partner of Year Award at this year’s annual meeting and 40th-anniversary celebration in Washington, D.C. The Industry Partner of the Year award recognizes allies who have made unique and valuable contributions on behalf of the industry’s outreach, advocacy, and education programs.
“Peggy’s commitment to the vinyl industry shows in her 30-plus years of working and advocating on behalf of the plastics industry,” said Ned Monroe, President, and CEO of the Vinyl Institute. “Through her volunteer efforts with the Society of Plastics Engineers, she has helped educate thousands of individuals and advance the younger generation’s interest in the plastics industry.”
Expect More Price Reductions in Early Q1
Performance Additives was pleased to offer price reductions at the end of 2022 and have more on the way in 2023 for our core products. If your sales representative has not yet reached out to you, please feel free to contact them and see how these reductions will benefit your company. We appreciate the continued support and business. Key factors that allow us to offer these reductions include lower ocean freight and a weak Asian economy has brought raw material and feedstock pricing down. Supply chains over the ocean are still long so timing on reductions will be product specific.
USTR Posts Questions for Public Commenters on China 301 Review – CPE Tariff Removal Possibility
As part of its review of the future of the China 301 tariffs, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (“USTR”) is soliciting public comments as to the effectiveness of these tariffs (or other actions that could be taken) and the corresponding effects on the U.S. economy. In a prior action, the USTR sought input from the domestic industry as to whether the 301 action should remain in effect.
In connection with this stage of its review, the USTR will be opening a public comment docket as of November 15, 2022 to allow interested persons to comment on any aspect of the proceeding.
Performance Additives has employed our legal team to draft a letter that each customer can submit requesting the removal of the China 301 tariffs on CPE, which is a product only made in China and the tariff is affecting American manufacturers.
This letter will be sent to all applicable customers as soon as it becomes available.
Regional PVC Prices Continue to Fall
Regional PVC prices were down 5 cents in October, marking the fourth consecutive month that prices had fallen by that amount. Prices now are down a net of 19 cents since Jan. 1. Construction activity is a main driver of PVC consumption. U.S. housing starts in September actually were up more than 1 percent vs. August, but were down more than 7 percent vs. July and more than 3 percent vs. September 2021. As a result, the PVC market is being affected by both higher inventories and lower seasonal demand.
