The German Adhesives Association recently published a report on the trends in key adhesive raw materials. Based on the report, the relevant business barometers indicate that the world economy is performing robustly, indicating that business will continue to pick up worldwide, although the current global political climate could best be described as tense and volatile. Demand for base chemicals reportedly remains high in Asia and the United States where―as a logical consequence of supply and demand mechanisms―the prices for commodities are higher than those that can be acquired in the European market. The difference in prices achievable in the Asian and U.S. markets and those to be had in the European markets could mean that the tonnages imported to Europe are down, partly because commodities are also being exported from Europe to more lucrative markets in other regions. The availability of adhesive raw materials was and will also reportedly be further affected in Q1 and Q2 2017 by planned overhauls―and unplanned stoppages―in cracker plants in Asia and in the facilities dedicated to the manufacture of base chemicals. Taken as a whole, all of these factors could combine to limit the availability of key raw materials in Europe, which could result in shortages and price rises. During the first quarter, prices for ethylene, propylene, butadiene and styrene increased appreciably around the globe, although the actual availability and price levels varied from region to region, according to the report. Butadiene prices recorded historic highs in Asia, while ethylene ranked lower on the price scale in the United States than in Asia. When the manufacture limitations for downstream products are factored in, costs for adhesive raw materials have been driven up still further worldwide. The effects are evident in acrylates, vinyl acetate-based raw materials, and more particularly in SBS and SIS polymers, especially as the prices for natural rubber have also been rising. Also affected are almost all solvents of key importance to the adhesives industry. Regarding polyurethane systems, availability in Europe is affected not just by increasing prices for isocyanates but also by the negative effects of arbitrage. Thus, formulation costs are reportedly increasing across the board, affecting virtually all water-based, solvent-based and PUR adhesives, as well as primer systems. The report concludes that the limited availability of commodities and the sustained demand has pushed up raw materials prices, with inevitable consequences on the formulation costs for adhesives, and current market bottlenecks can only be anticipated to ease when the raw material prices in the Asian, U.S. and European markets begin to converge once again.