Material price data for polystyrene
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What is polystyrene?
The material is easy to process, offers high stiffness and is suitable for moulded parts, sheet, film, and packaging applications.
Where is polystyrene used?
Transparent grades matter for clear packaging, impact-resistant grades for housings, interior fittings, sheet, and injection-moulded parts.
Recycled, revalued, repriced: PCR plastics to 2032
Top 5 application markets for polystyrene
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Food packagingFood packaging uses large volumes of PE, PP, and PET – price movements feed directly into unit costs.Learn more
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Non-food packagingNon-food packaging combines PP, PE, PS, PVC, and PET – a broad material mix with differing price dynamics.Learn more
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Small domestic appliancesSmall domestic appliances combine ABS, PC/ABS, PP, and engineering plastics – price movements feed directly into the unit costs of large series.Learn more
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Consumer electronics / brown goodsBrown goods such as TV sets and audio equipment rely on ABS, PC/ABS, and HIPS for housings – price movements feed through into unit costs.Learn more
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ToysToys use large volumes of ABS, PP, PE, and PS – price movements feed straight into unit costs.Learn more
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What makes polystyrene distinctive?
Technical properties
Polystyrene is stiff, dimensionally stable, and easy to process. Depending on the modification it suits transparent packaging, impact-resistant housings or extruded semi-finished products.
- Range of price series: GPPS offers transparency and stiffness, while HIPS raises impact resistance.
- Good formability: polystyrene can be injection moulded, extruded, and thermoformed efficiently.
- Surface quality: The material suits visible parts, packaging, and printable applications.
Market relevance
Polystyrene prices feed through to packaging, electrical appliances, consumer goods, and technical moulded parts. Several price price series allow a differentiated assessment.
- Regional comparison: the Western European and Chinese perspectives can be viewed separately.
- Grade comparison: standard PS and high-impact grades can be assessed in a structured way.
- Planning: historical series support material cost and quotation calculations.
Processing methods
Polystyrene can be processed by different methods depending on the grade and the application. The most relevant are:
- Injection moulding: for housings, toys, consumer goods, and technical moulded parts.
- Extrusion: for sheets, films, and semi-finished products with good dimensional stability.
- Thermoforming: for packaging, trays, and moulded parts from extruded sheet.
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