DOW CEO Jim Fitterling said recently that global polyethylene (PE) demand will remain resilient in 2022, while Dow will increase production capacity and exports.

“Every 1% GDP growth in the market requires 2-3 world-class PE plants to come online, and our expectation is that this won’t change,” Dow CEO Jim Fitterling said on the company’s fourth-quarter earnings call. We’re seeing strong demand for plastic products across all industries. Most new projects will start in the second quarter to mid-year, so I think the market growth will help mitigate some of the impact. Our expectations for operating rates are higher than the industry’s Expectations for PE are 2-3 percentage points higher.”

The Dow CEO expects North America’s annual PE production capacity to reach 4 million tons, half of which will be used for export markets and half will be use for local markets.

He also pointed out that by 2025, 50% of the global PE capacity increase will be in high-cost regions, 60% of which will be in Northeast Asia.