Middle East conflict disrupts plastic supply and raises prices in French Plastics Valley

The war in the Middle East is disrupting operations in France's Plastics Valley, the historic heart of the country's plastics industry centered around Oyonnax in the Ain department, within the Haut-Bugey area of the Jura massif. The conflict has sent polymer prices soaring due to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, forcing customers to cut orders and leaving production lines idle at a time of year that is normally the busiest.

At Meplast, a plastics processor in Veyziat, 10 minutes from Oyonnax city center, the impact is visible on the factory floor. The plant operates 13 injection presses producing small and medium-series parts, including office furniture. On April 16, half of those presses stood idle. Site manager Lolita Manzoni said that in normal times all presses run at full capacity during the day and also at night during the March-to-May period, which is typically a season of high activity. "En temps normal, elles fonctionnent même la nuit à cette saison. Les mois de mars à mai sont généralement une période de forte activité chez nous," she said. But on April 16, half of them remained silent. Several Meplast customers, alarmed by the surge in polymer prices triggered by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, have chosen to reduce or suspend their orders as a precaution.

The disruption has been affecting the Plastics Valley for two months as of the April 16 report, underscoring the vulnerability of France's largest concentration of plastics manufacturers to global supply shocks.