Since March 2026, the military conflict between the United States and Iran has been intensifying. Multiple oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz have been attacked, and this waterway, which is a vital passage for approximately 20% of global crude oil trade, has been severely blocked. As a necessary passage for approximately 20% of global crude oil trade, the continuous turmoil in the Strait of Hormuz has triggered a systemic chain reaction in the global petrochemical supply chain, significantly and profoundly affecting the cost of raw materials for the adhesive industry.
Petrochemical raw materials: Cost transmission from oil prices to adhesives
The core raw materials of adhesives - PVC resin, polyethylene terephthalate (PET), acrylic adhesives, rubber-based adhesives, etc. - are all refined derivatives of oil and natural gas, and their cost trends are highly positively correlated with the price of crude oil.
This crisis has had an especially severe impact on the upstream of the petrochemical industry:
The profit margin of naphtha refining (a key cost anchor for PVC polymers) has soared from approximately $108 per ton before the conflict to over $400 per ton
Polypropylene increased by 24% in March alone
The comprehensive quoted prices of polymers in major Asian markets have risen by an interval of $200 to $500 per ton
The freight rates in the Strait of Hormuz have risen comprehensively, further pushing up the cost of raw materials at the port
This means that the input costs of the entire adhesive manufacturing industry chain, from solvent-based adhesives to hot melt adhesives, from base film to backing cloth, have all experienced substantial increases. This is an industry-wide, global cost restructuring, not a unilateral decision by individual enterprises.
Liantu's Position and Observations
As a provider of all-category adhesive solutions covering industrial, packaging, construction, electrical, pipeline protection, etc., Liantu maintains a high level of attention and continuous tracking of this round of raw material price fluctuations.
We believe that in the current market environment, the most important asset between buyers and suppliers is transparency. Liantu is willing to share public and objective market information with global partners to help all parties make more rational decisions in the current complex procurement environment - whether it is lock pricing, judgment of the timing for stock preparation, or re-evaluation of supply chain resilience.
