Every Resin Is Moving at Once — April 2026 Market Update and Q2 Negotiation Strategy

This week's Resin Market Moves covers the defining market dynamic of April 2026: every major resin category is moving higher at the same time, all driven by the same upstream cost stack. PE, PP, ABS, PS, PC, PVC, PET, PA6, and PA66 are all under upward pricing pressure — and the window to influence Q2 outcomes is narrowing fast.Michael Workman, CMO of ResinSmart, walks through what's actually driving April nominations across the full resin portfolio, explains why the mid-week crude oil pullback tied to the US-Iran ceasefire doesn't change the structural setup, and lays out the three things that consistently separate buyers who protect margins in this kind of environment from those who don't.He also draws on Joel Petersen's framework for conducting effective negotiations — and explains why the resin supplier call you're about to have is won or lost before you pick up the phone.If your benchmark is still a published index, this episode is for you.Topics covered: PE nominations up to $0.30/lb for April with $0.20/lb already on the table for May — PP PGP feedstock dynamics and overlapping PDH outages — ABS, PS, and PC moving on benzene — PET tracking the April PX contract to ~82.5 cents/lb — PVC turnaround season tightening spot supply through May — PA6 and PA66 cost floor under soft demand — What the US-Iran ceasefire means and doesn't mean for buyers — Preparation as the primary determinant of negotiation outcomes — The difference between a supplier's position and their interest — Why timing is information and the Q2 window is closingResinSmart is the buyer-side resin market intelligence platform built on 25+ years of real transaction data. Start your 60-day free trial at resinsmart.ai.This week's RTi Drivers report — resinsmart.ai Start your 60-day free trial — resinsmart.ai Connect with Michael on LinkedIn — https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-workman-04085923/. Joel Petersen on Conducting Effective Negotiations — youtube.com/watch?v=rCmvMDrCWjs. Read this week's PlasticsToday article — https://www.plasticstoday.com/resin-pricing/resin-price-report-feedstock-costs-just-reset-the-plastic-resin-market. Subscribe to the Resin Market Moves newsletter — ResinSmart Newsletter Subscription.