Recycled ABS Daily Review: Cost Bottom Support, Market Stalemate with Weak and Steady Trading Activity

Today, the domestic recycled ABS market remained in a stalemate, with quotations showing no obvious rise or fall and regional price differences remaining stable.

Laizhou door-panel titanium white secondary crushed material: RMB 8,200–8,300/mt; imported black pelletized material in Guangdong (impact strength 12–13): RMB 9,200–9,500/mt; Shandong beige first-grade pellets: RMB 8,170–8,370/mt, all quoted on a cash, ex-works, self-pickup basis excluding tax. Cost support remains firm: purchase prices for waste ABS scrap from home appliances and electronics stay elevated and resilient, with recovery and sorting costs accounting for about 45% of total costs, while processing costs such as utilities and additives remain stable. Producers’ profit margins continue to be squeezed, leaving little room for any proactive and substantial price cuts. Upstream styrene futures have been fluctuating downward, while mainstream virgin ABS prices stand at RMB 8,650–10,000/mt. The price spread between virgin and recycled material remains in the RMB 2,000–3,000/mt range, significantly narrower than the peak seen in the first half of the year, according to Sina Finance.

On the supply and demand side, the average operating rate of recycled ABS processing plants is 47%. Under the normalization of environmental protection and control, crushing production lines in many areas have reduced their load, with no new capacity coming online. On the supply side, spot inventories are at a medium level. Manufacturers are flexibly arranging production to control shipment pace, with no large-scale dumping of goods. Downstream appliance, small appliance, and luggage injection molding enterprises have entered the traditional off-season. End-market orders have declined, and product manufacturers are operating at insufficient levels, only making small replenishments as needed. Large-scale stockpiling behavior has disappeared.

Overall trading in the spot market was subdued, with transactions mainly driven by existing customers placing scattered small orders, most of which were under 10 tons per order. Downstream buyers generally pushed for lower prices, with room for negotiated concessions of RMB 80–120 per ton. Market sentiment across the industry was clearly divided: upstream recyclers showed strong resistance to price declines due to persistently high feedstock costs; downstream manufacturers were bearish on the outlook and remained on the sidelines with cash in hand, while traders acted cautiously, buying low and selling low to avoid risks.

ABS futures are fluctuating within a narrow range, and the cost side lacks clear guidance, making it difficult to lift sentiment in the spot market. Market outlook: In the short term, recycled ABS is expected to remain range-bound. Raw material costs provide downside support and limit sharp declines, but persistently weak end-user demand and soft virgin material prices will cap any rebound. Prices are therefore likely to continue fluctuating within the current range in the near term. Unless virgin material prices strengthen significantly or raw material shortages provide bullish support, trading activity is expected to remain sluggish.

(The data in this article is compiled from publicly available information and is for market reference only. It does not constitute any investment or trading advice.)