HIPS and GPPS resin supplier: polystyrene pellets from one gaylord to a railcar

Grades we source

Tap a grade to add it to your quote request.

• GPPS (crystal / general purpose)
• HIPS (high-impact)
• FDA food-contact grades
• Flame-retardant HIPS
• Extrusion and injection grades
• Grades for adhesive and compounding use

About Polystyrene (PS)

General-purpose PS (GPPS) offers clarity, stiffness and excellent moldability at minimal cost; high-impact PS (HIPS) adds rubber toughening for parts that need to survive handling. With North American PS capacity consolidating, a dependable source matters more than it used to.

Common applications

• Food packaging and service items
• Consumer product housings
• Appliance components
• Displays and point-of-purchase
• Sheet and thermoforming
• Hot-melt and solvent adhesives (as a modifier)

Typical properties

Property ranges are general guidance and vary by grade and supplier; a polymer chemist confirms the exact spec against the data sheet and certificate of analysis for your application.

Full data sheet values: Polystyrene properties

Which grade to ask for

Choose GPPS or HIPS first, then melt flow for the process.

Typical starting points. Grades vary, so confirm on the data sheet for the exact grade.

Grade finder: start from what you make

Pick your process, find the row for your product, and tap Quote this to add it to the form.

These windows are typical published ranges to start the conversation, so confirm against the data sheet for the grade you run and let a chemist check any equivalent before you switch. Most PS data sheets give MFR at 200°C / 392°F and 5 kg (ASTM D1238 or ISO 1133); a value at another condition does not compare directly.

Processing notes

• Drying. Usually no drying needed. Polystyrene picks up only surface moisture. Dry at about 71–75°C / 160–167°F for 1–2 hours only for regrind, humid storage or condensation, and never longer than 12 hours. See the drying chart for other resins.
• Melt temperature. GPPS about 180–260°C / 356–500°F. HIPS about 180–240°C / 356–464°F, and it should not go higher, because the rubber phase degrades.
• Mold temperature. About 10–66°C / 50–150°F for both. Cold molds give fast cycles; warmer molds lower stress in GPPS.
• Shrinkage. GPPS about 0.3–0.8%, HIPS about 0.4–0.8%. Areas under high hold pressure can shrink very little.
• Regrind. Many molders run 15–25%. Keep it clean: clear GPPS shows specks and tint readily, and HIPS loses impact as the rubber phase is reheated.
• Most common defect. Cracking from molded-in stress and chemical attack. See brittle parts and stress cracking.

How polystyrene prices are set

Polystyrene price follows styrene monomer more closely than most resins follow their feedstock, because GPPS is almost all styrene and HIPS is mostly styrene plus, typically, about 5–10% polybutadiene rubber. Styrene is made by reacting benzene with ethylene to make ethylbenzene, then dehydrogenating it; some styrene is made as a co-product of propylene oxide. So benzene, which tracks crude oil and the gasoline market, sets much of the cost, ethylene adds a smaller share, and butadiene matters for HIPS. When benzene or styrene moves, North American PS contract prices often move the same way within a month or two, plus or minus margin changes that producers nominate by letter.

Larger buyers mostly buy on contract with monthly moves. Spot railcars, wide-spec and imports trade separately. Trade press such as Plastics News reports monthly North American PS price moves, and ICIS reports styrene and monthly U.S. GPPS and HIPS contract prices. Supply matters too. North American PS capacity is shrinking. In June 2026 a producer announced it will close an Illinois PS plant. In December 2025 another producer said it would stop a Louisiana styrene unit of about 570 million lb a year that month. Demand has also softened where states and cities restrict foam foodservice ware. Fewer plants mean an outage or a grade discontinuation can tighten supply of a specific grade quickly.

A warning about search results: many polystyrene price per pound numbers online are FOB Asia offers in dollars per metric ton, scrap or densified-foam prices, or retail prices for 1 kg hobby packs. None of them is the delivered price of prime pellets for a production line.

We do not post prices. Every quote is for a specific grade, quantity, package and ship-to city. See how resin is priced for the mechanics and the resin market notes for which way styrenics are moving this month.

What order size does to the price

Freight to your dock, FOB versus delivered terms, imported versus domestic resin and prime versus wide-spec can move the price as much as order size, so send your ship-to city with every request.

Ways to lower the cost: buy a full truckload instead of single gaylords, tell us imported resin is OK, or ask about surplus lots and recycled grades if your part allows. See how resin is priced.

Packaging and lead times

We confirm a ship date with every quote, and we do not promise one until the source has confirmed it. General-purpose GPPS and HIPS that are already packaged in a supplier’s inventory often ship first. Specialty grades, such as high-ESCR liner HIPS, FR HIPS, high-heat GPPS and medical grades, are often made in campaigns and can wait for the next run, which can take weeks. Railcars add rail transit time, which varies by lane.

With fewer North American PS plants, a grade you run may be moved to another plant, reformulated or discontinued. If your producer sends that notice, start qualifying a replacement right away rather than when your last lot arrives. Tell us the date you need resin on your floor and how much you have on hand, and we will tell you what is realistic. See what to do when a grade is discontinued and what to do under allocation or force majeure.

What to put on the purchase order

• Resin type: GPPS or HIPS, and injection, sheet, foam or adhesive grade.
• Melt flow at 200°C / 5 kg, the most common condition, or the condition on your current data sheet.
• Impact and heat values for HIPS, such as notched Izod and Vicat or heat deflection.
• ESCR if the part touches fats, oils or cleaners, with the actual substance named.
• Food contact: ask for the producer’s FDA letter for the exact grade.
• Flame rating for FR HIPS, with thickness and color. Check the grade’s listing on UL Product iQ.
• For adhesives and compounding: melt flow and molecular weight, plus mineral oil content if your formula is sensitive to it.

Prime, wide-spec, reprocessed or recycled

Checking the COA when the lot arrives

• Lot number. The lot on the COA matches the label on every gaylord or bag, and the seal numbers match the bill of lading for bulk.
• MFR at the right condition. MFR at 200°C / 392°F and 5 kg is inside your window. A value at another load or temperature does not compare.
• Vicat or heat. Vicat softening point (ASTM D1525 or ISO 306) if the COA reports it. Check the method, since Vicat A and B, and 50°C/h or 120°C/h heating, give different numbers. More mineral oil means higher flow and lower Vicat.
• Impact for HIPS. Notched Izod by ASTM D256, at the same bar thickness and method as your spec. A drop can mean a change in rubber content or particle size.
• Residual styrene for food and odor. If your food or odor spec sets a limit, check residual styrene monomer. FDA’s 21 CFR 177.1640 caps it at 1% by weight for PS in general, 0.5% for certain fatty foods, and 0.5% for rubber-modified PS; many packaging specs set far lower limits.
• Clarity and color for GPPS. Yellowness, haze or black-speck count if your spec lists them. Clear GPPS shows contamination readily.
• Pellets and packaging. Liners intact, no water, and few fines or streamers. Moisture is rarely an issue, but condensation on cold pellets brought into a warm plant can cause splay.
• Keep a retain. Seal a small sample of each lot so you can test it later. See the incoming inspection checklist and what a COA is.

Adding a second source without stopping the line

1. Write down what you run now. The grade, its data sheet, three to six recent COAs with actual lot values, your process settings and every approval tied to the grade (FDA letter, UL listing, toy or customer approvals).
2. Match on paper first. A polymer chemist compares GPPS or HIPS, MFR at 200°C / 392°F and 5 kg, mineral oil level, Vicat, impact, rubber type for ESCR grades and documents, and tells you what differs.
3. Sample, then a production trial. Run one gaylord on a normal shift next to your current grade. For sheet, check gauge, gloss and draw; for liners, run the actual foam and fats test; for molded parts, check stress cracking near oils or cleaners.
4. Get approvals before volume. UL-listed FR HIPS, appliance liners and customer-approved parts need requalification. Start that paperwork early.
5. Keep the second source active. Buy a small regular volume and trend its COAs, which matters more now that fewer plants make PS. See how to qualify a second resin source.

Want a chemist to compare a second source with what you run now? Send the grade and recent COAs through the quote form or an RFQ package.

When to consider something else

• If you need a tougher part, a better surface or plating, look at ABS vs. HIPS.
• If a clear part needs better chemical resistance, look at SAN on the ASA / SAN page.
• If a clear part must take impact or heat, look at clear polycarbonate.
• If you need living hinges, chemical resistance or lower density, look at polypropylene.

Common questions