Plastic resins 91裸聊视频� tiny plastic pellets used to make everything from bread bags to milk containers 91裸聊视频� are undergoing a triple whammy of high demand, tight supply and soaring prices.

The raw ingredient that forms the base of all things plastic is emerging as the tiniest example of how COVID-19 is causing enduring supply chain turmoil.

Industry experts say the ongoing shortage of the ubiquitous material is unlikely to be resolved quickly, and that plastic resin price hikes are trickling down to consumer goods and adding to inflation.

91裸聊视频淭he conditions are very, very challenging,91裸聊视频� said Bob Masterson, president and CEO of the Chemistry Industry Association of Canada, which represents the plastics industry. 91裸聊视频淭hese are prices the market has never seen.91裸聊视频�

It started at the outset of the pandemic with a massive spike in demand for personal protective equipment like masks, face shields, gloves and gowns 91裸聊视频� much of which is made of single-use plastics.

The health crisis also shifted consumer buying habits. The stockpiling of groceries spurred demand for plastics 91裸聊视频� even toilet paper is wrapped in plastic 91裸聊视频� while grocers upped their plastic use to wrap or bag food for both in-store and online purchases.

Moreover, the shifting of food dollars away from restaurants 91裸聊视频� which buy food in larger bulk containers 91裸聊视频� to grocery stores also nudged up plastic packaging use more broadly.

At home improvement stores, as the price of lumber reached dizzying heights, some shoppers turned to materials made with plastics like composite decking or plastic sheds.

91裸聊视频淐OVID-19 led to a significant expansion in demand for plastic products across a range of market segments,91裸聊视频� Masterson said, noting that by the end of 2020, plastic production and consumption hit record levels in North America.

Yet just as demand was peaking, supply took a dive.

Many plastic resin makers deferred maintenance on their facilities early in the pandemic, but Masterson said that activity cannot be delayed further. A number of facilities are currently off-line for maintenance, he said.

That comes after a year of severe weather events along the U.S. Gulf Coast that have idled numerous chemical plants for weeks. Hurricane Ida is the most recent storm to shake up the industry and create a more challenging situation in the short term, Masterson said.

At the same time, construction of new facilities slowed. For example, Inter Pipeline Ltd. said in May 2020 that the pandemic had affected near-term construction plans on its $4-billion Heartland Petrochemical Complex near Edmonton. The facility will turn propane into polypropylene, a material used in a range of products like medical supplies and lightweight automotive parts.

The tight supply along with the ongoing strong demand has sent plastic resin prices through the roof.

91裸聊视频淲ithin the first year of the pandemic, the price of our raw material was up 107 per cent,91裸聊视频� says Joel Rudolph, chief operating officer of Farnell Packaging Ltd. The company near Halifax uses plastic pellets to make flexible packaging primarily used in the food industry.

91裸聊视频淲e91裸聊视频檝e now seen almost two years of unprecedented increases. We91裸聊视频檝e had some really rough months.91裸聊视频�

Still, the cost of the plastic packaging on food items is a small part of the overall cost consumers pay, which means higher plastic prices on their own shouldn91裸聊视频檛 cause sticker shock for shoppers, he said.

91裸聊视频淥n the price of bread, the cost of the plastic bag is a very low percentage of the overall cost,91裸聊视频� Rudolph said.

Yet experts say plastic prices are one of several factors pushing up the cost of materials and contributing to rising inflation.

Statistics Canada said last month the annual pace of inflation rose to 3.7 per cent in July, the biggest increase since May 2011. The price of so-called durable goods, which includes many items made with plastic, increased at an even faster pace of five per cent.

Indeed, the rising cost of plastic resins was cited in Canadian Tire Corp.91裸聊视频檚 recent earnings call as one of the inputs causing 91裸聊视频渋nflationary pressure91裸聊视频� on the retailer.

91裸聊视频淲e would have seen commodity cost pressure in products made with plastic resin, like storage containers,91裸聊视频� TJ Flood, president of the Canadian Tire retail chain, said during the company91裸聊视频檚 second quarter conference call with analysts last month.

Toymaker and children91裸聊视频檚 entertainment company Spin Master Corp. also discussed rising plastic resin prices during its latest earnings call.

91裸聊视频淲e continue to see increases in input costs, primarily from plastic resin, paper and cardboard packaging and more recently from electronic chips and particularly ocean freight,91裸聊视频� Mark Segal, Spin Master91裸聊视频檚 executive vice-president chief financial office told analysts in August.

Both Canadian Tire and Spin Master declined to comment further on plastic resin prices.

While the situation is unlikely to be resolved soon, Masterson said it should begin to ease as the backlog of demand is filled and new facilities come online.

Inter Pipeline said its plastic facility is expected to begin making polypropylene in early 2022.

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Brett Bundale, The Canadian Press

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