OxyVinyls’ and Orbia’s investments to expand vinyl chloride production in the United States come as the U.S. restricts imports of vinyl flooring from China manufactured with forced labor.
From January to November 2024, U.S. imports of vinyl chloride polymer floor and wall or ceiling coverings originating in China fell at a year-over-year rate of 24.7% to $1.291 billion.
OxyVinyls investments
Mexican company Orbia plans to build a new vinyl chloride and PVC plant in the United States by 2028: capacity is 1.1 million tons.
OxyVinyls is investing US$1.1 billion in the modernization of its vinyl chloride production plant in La Porte, USA.
Following are U.S. imports of vinyl chloride polymer floor and wall or ceiling coverings originating from China to the United States, in millions of dollars:
- 2018: 2,830.
- 2019: 2,845.
- 2020: 3,142.
- 2021: 3,210.
- 2022: 2,972.
- 2023: 1,876.
- 2024 (January-November): 1,291.
China
U.S. imports of these products from around the world were $3.769 billion in the first 11 months of 2024, an increase of 10.5% at a year-over-year rate, according to Commerce Department data.
According to FracTracker Alliance, U.S. Customs began detaining vinyl flooring products that were not documented free of forced labor from China’s Xinjiang region.
At the same time, other countries have gained market share in U.S. imports of these goods.
These were the top five exporters of vinyl chloride polymer floor and wall or ceiling coverings to the United States, January through November 2024, in millions of dollars:
- Vietnam: 1,378 (+68.2% y-o-y).
- China: 1,291 (-24.7 percent).
- South Korea: 480 (+16.8 percent).
- Mexico: 133 (+59.6 percent).
- Thailand: 91 (+65.3 percent).