In the last week of March 2025, the North American Styrene market showed strong price stability, despite major plant shutdowns at LyondellBasell and Americas Styrenics. This scenario shows the balance between supply and demand, proper inventory management, and continuous downstream demand in the region, especially in the USA and Mexico.

The Styrene market in the USA remained strong despite challenges. It faced a force majeure at LyondellBasell’s Channelview facility for the whole month, along with a maintenance shutdown at Americas Styrenics’ Louisiana plant during the final week. The LyondellBasell outage was because of the lack of stability in power supply. This affected the production capacity of over 100,000 TPM.

However, the effect of these plant closures on prices was minimal. As per the observations by ChemAnalyst, Styrene prices in the USA did not change during the last three weeks of March. This was after a decrease of about 3.5% in the second week, post which, the market became stable.

Mexico’s Styrene market also remained steady. Prices got reduced by around 3.4% in the middle of the month but remained constant in the following weeks. As an importer of Styrene, Mexico’s market is majorly influenced by the global pricing trends. The stability in U.S Styrene prices helped Mexican buyers manage import costs. Moreover, continuous demand from the construction and automobile sectors supported the market balance in the region.

The effect of the closures at the facilities were compensated by stable productions at other U.S. Styrene plants.  Reduction in feedstocks Benzene and Ethylene prices also helped in maintaining the price stability. Market players did not note any major changes in quotes. Trade flows remained stable, and no significant increase in Styrene inventory levels were seen. Constant purchases from the packaging and construction sectors supported the price trend.

Economic conditions also had an impact on the Styrene market. In the USA, production output reduced slightly from February. However, export orders started to stabilize, and purchases were managed well using existing inventory levels.

Mexico faced complex issues. Manufacturing output reduced significantly during the month. Foreign demand for its goods got reduced, mainly from the USA, because of the growth in export costs due to increased tariffs and exchange rates. Even then, domestic styrene usage remained consistent and stable import supply chains helped Styrene prices in Mexico remain unchanged.

Overall, the Styrene market in North America showed stability during the last week of March 2025. Proper management of the supply chain, reduction in feedstock prices, and continuous demand balanced the short-term disruptions caused by the shutdowns at LyondellBasell and Americas Styrenics. This avoided major price changes in both the USA and Mexico.