What is Isoprene Market Analysis: Price Trend, Trade Data and Rubber Demand
Analysts Sentiment
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What's driving sentiment this week:
Latest published month (2026-07) — Sentiment: Neutral
The most recent published customs observation for HS 290124 is 2026-07 at USD 1,093.84/ton, -15.8% against the previous month and +32.8% against 2025-08.
Reported volume across the fixed 7-economy panel was 1,319,556 tonnes over the window, 109,963 tonnes a month on average, and the three-month trend is +10.4%. The heading-level series is volatile: the largest month-on-month move in the window was +50.5% between 2026-03 and 2026-04, when reported value moved -18.9% and reported tonnage moved -46.1%, so that move reflects the mix and size of shipments filed under this heading rather than a single quoted price.
Next 1–3 Months — Outlook
This page is refreshed from public customs statistics rather than paid price assessments, so the next revision will roll in each newly published month for HS 290124. Direction shown here is a reading of published customs unit values, not a forecast.
Key Market Impact
Customs unit values for this heading are the single most checkable price signal available without a subscription: they combine the product mix actually crossing borders, the average contract level behind those shipments and freight-relevant volume. Treat them as the trade-weighted baseline for the heading, and read the coverage note above before applying them to a single grade.
How About the Price?
Data source: UN Comtrade public trade statistics (https://comtradeapi.un.org/public/v1/preview/C/M/HS?reporterCode=156,842,699,410,276,528,356,360,764,458,724,40,56,251,380,616,826,124,76,484,792,682,784,704,490,702,643,36,710,818,364,203,348,300,620,372,208,246,752,578,320,508&period=202607&cmdCode=290124&partnerCode=0&flowCode=X&includeDesc=true) | Last updated: 2026-11-05
Demand-side factors
- Isoprene demand is led by polyisoprene rubber for tyre and technical goods, by block copolymer and thermoplastic elastomer applications, and by speciality chemicals such as fragrance intermediates.
- Related market pages on this site: C5 (the pentane fraction it is separated from), Dicyclopentadiene (the competing C5 diene co-monomer), Mixed C4 (the dehydrogenation feed competing for the same olefin pool).
Price Trajectory, latest 12 months (2025-08 to 2026-07)
The monthly customs export unit value for HS 290124 moved from USD 823.88/ton in 2025-08 to USD 1,093.84/ton in 2026-07 (+32.8% across the window). The window high was USD 1,563.40/ton in 2026-04 and the low USD 651.49/ton in 2025-11. Three-month averages put the latest quarter +10.4% against the previous one, which is classified here as neutral. The heading-level series is volatile: the largest month-on-month move in the window was +50.5% between 2026-03 and 2026-04, when reported value moved -18.9% and reported tonnage moved -46.1%, so that move reflects the mix and size of shipments filed under this heading rather than a single quoted price.
The same panel reported USD 1,262.1 million of export value on 1,319,556 tonnes over the twelve months, an average of 109,963 tonnes a month. Values are customs returns for the stated HS heading, so they capture the traded mix of that heading rather than a single quoted grade.
The EU side of the same heading is one month fresher than the panel above: Eurostat Comext records EU27 imports of HS 290124 from outside the EU at USD 2,252.53/ton in 2026-08 (EUR 1,942.99/ton at the ECB monthly reference rate), -25.8% against 2026-07, on 176 tonnes; the twelve months to 2026-08 totalled 4,612 tonnes. On the 11 months the two datasets share (2025-08 to 2026-07), three-month blocks that far apart moved +58.7% on the export panel and +20.0% on the EU import side, so the two agree on direction. At this volume the monthly unit value still moves with the mix of consignments, so read it as a cross-check rather than as a second price series. Import values are recorded on a CIF-type basis by a single bloc, so the level is not comparable with the export panel — the comparison above is directional.
2026-08 is deliberately not in the series: of the 7 economies that make up this page's fixed panel, 5 had filed both value and net weight for this heading when the page was rebuilt on 2026-11-05, while the heading drew 9 filers in total that month; 2026-09 drew 0 filings for this heading, 0 of them from panel members, and 2026-10 drew 0 (0 from the panel). Splicing a partly-filed month onto a fixed panel would move the unit value through composition alone, so the window stays at 2026-07 until the whole panel for 2026-08 has reported.
HS 290124 names buta-1,3-diene and isoprene together in one line, so this series is the shared diene heading and not an isoprene-only quote; the other unsaturated acyclic hydrocarbons sit in 290129. Synthetic rubber and the polyisoprene made from isoprene are classified in chapter 40, so only merchant diene crosses this line - and butadiene is the larger member of the pair, which caps how far the heading can be read as an isoprene price.
Supply-side factors
- Fixed reporting panel of 7 economies: BRA (76), CAN (124), DEU (276), IDN (360), NLD (528), IND (699), USA (842). The panel is held constant in every period of the window so period-to-period movement is not a composition effect.
- Unit value range over the window: USD 651.49 to USD 1,563.40/ton.
- Latest month, 2026-07: USD 1,093.84/ton, -15.8% against the previous month, on 123,125 tonnes.
Basis: these are customs unit values for the stated HS heading, not quoted spot, contract or assessed prices, and no paid price assessment is used or redistributed on this page. Every figure can be re-checked at the API links listed at the end of this page.
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Data Sources
Every endpoint used for the series on this page, the EU cross-check, the exchange rate used to express it in dollars and the HS classification reference:
- https://comtradeapi.un.org/public/v1/preview/C/M/HS?reporterCode=156,842,699,410,276,528,356,360,764,458,724,40,56,251,380,616,826,124,76,484,792,682,784,704,490,702,643,36,710,818,364,203,348,300,620,372,208,246,752,578,320,508&period=202508&cmdCode=290124&partnerCode=0&flowCode=X&includeDesc=true
- https://comtradeapi.un.org/public/v1/preview/C/M/HS?reporterCode=156,842,699,410,276,528,356,360,764,458,724,40,56,251,380,616,826,124,76,484,792,682,784,704,490,702,643,36,710,818,364,203,348,300,620,372,208,246,752,578,320,508&period=202509&cmdCode=290124&partnerCode=0&flowCode=X&includeDesc=true
- https://comtradeapi.un.org/public/v1/preview/C/M/HS?reporterCode=156,842,699,410,276,528,356,360,764,458,724,40,56,251,380,616,826,124,76,484,792,682,784,704,490,702,643,36,710,818,364,203,348,300,620,372,208,246,752,578,320,508&period=202510&cmdCode=290124&partnerCode=0&flowCode=X&includeDesc=true
- https://comtradeapi.un.org/public/v1/preview/C/M/HS?reporterCode=156,842,699,410,276,528,356,360,764,458,724,40,56,251,380,616,826,124,76,484,792,682,784,704,490,702,643,36,710,818,364,203,348,300,620,372,208,246,752,578,320,508&period=202511&cmdCode=290124&partnerCode=0&flowCode=X&includeDesc=true
- https://comtradeapi.un.org/public/v1/preview/C/M/HS?reporterCode=156,842,699,410,276,528,356,360,764,458,724,40,56,251,380,616,826,124,76,484,792,682,784,704,490,702,643,36,710,818,364,203,348,300,620,372,208,246,752,578,320,508&period=202512&cmdCode=290124&partnerCode=0&flowCode=X&includeDesc=true
- https://comtradeapi.un.org/public/v1/preview/C/M/HS?reporterCode=156,842,699,410,276,528,356,360,764,458,724,40,56,251,380,616,826,124,76,484,792,682,784,704,490,702,643,36,710,818,364,203,348,300,620,372,208,246,752,578,320,508&period=202601&cmdCode=290124&partnerCode=0&flowCode=X&includeDesc=true
- https://comtradeapi.un.org/public/v1/preview/C/M/HS?reporterCode=156,842,699,410,276,528,356,360,764,458,724,40,56,251,380,616,826,124,76,484,792,682,784,704,490,702,643,36,710,818,364,203,348,300,620,372,208,246,752,578,320,508&period=202602&cmdCode=290124&partnerCode=0&flowCode=X&includeDesc=true
- https://comtradeapi.un.org/public/v1/preview/C/M/HS?reporterCode=156,842,699,410,276,528,356,360,764,458,724,40,56,251,380,616,826,124,76,484,792,682,784,704,490,702,643,36,710,818,364,203,348,300,620,372,208,246,752,578,320,508&period=202603&cmdCode=290124&partnerCode=0&flowCode=X&includeDesc=true
- https://comtradeapi.un.org/public/v1/preview/C/M/HS?reporterCode=156,842,699,410,276,528,356,360,764,458,724,40,56,251,380,616,826,124,76,484,792,682,784,704,490,702,643,36,710,818,364,203,348,300,620,372,208,246,752,578,320,508&period=202604&cmdCode=290124&partnerCode=0&flowCode=X&includeDesc=true
- https://comtradeapi.un.org/public/v1/preview/C/M/HS?reporterCode=156,842,699,410,276,528,356,360,764,458,724,40,56,251,380,616,826,124,76,484,792,682,784,704,490,702,643,36,710,818,364,203,348,300,620,372,208,246,752,578,320,508&period=202605&cmdCode=290124&partnerCode=0&flowCode=X&includeDesc=true
- https://comtradeapi.un.org/public/v1/preview/C/M/HS?reporterCode=156,842,699,410,276,528,356,360,764,458,724,40,56,251,380,616,826,124,76,484,792,682,784,704,490,702,643,36,710,818,364,203,348,300,620,372,208,246,752,578,320,508&period=202606&cmdCode=290124&partnerCode=0&flowCode=X&includeDesc=true
- https://comtradeapi.un.org/public/v1/preview/C/M/HS?reporterCode=156,842,699,410,276,528,356,360,764,458,724,40,56,251,380,616,826,124,76,484,792,682,784,704,490,702,643,36,710,818,364,203,348,300,620,372,208,246,752,578,320,508&period=202607&cmdCode=290124&partnerCode=0&flowCode=X&includeDesc=true
- https://comtradeapi.un.org/files/v1/app/reference/HS.json
- Eurostat Comext DS-045409, EU27 extra-EU imports, monthly: https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/api/comext/dissemination/statistics/1.0/data/DS-045409?format=JSON&freq=M&reporter=EU27_2020&partner=EXT_EU27_2020&flow=1&indicators=VALUE_IN_EUROS&indicators=QUANTITY_IN_100KG&product=290124&sinceTimePeriod=2025-07
- ECB euro reference rate, monthly average (EXR/M.USD.EUR.SP00.A): https://data-api.ecb.europa.eu/service/data/EXR/M.USD.EUR.SP00.A?format=csvdata&startPeriod=2025-07&endPeriod=2026-10
Substitutes & Alternatives
| Substitute | Replacement Scenario / How It Substitutes |
|---|---|
| Natural Rubber (NR) | In polyisoprene rubber applications (tires, gloves, medical devices), natural rubber is the direct functional equivalent of synthetic polyisoprene made from isoprene. It is a drop-in substitute in most vulcanized rubber formulations, though it introduces supply-chain variability and cannot be used where controlled microstructure (high cis-1,4 content) or purity is critical. NR replaces isoprene-derived synthetic rubber when NR prices are competitive. |
| Butadiene (1,3-Butadiene) | In synthetic rubber blends and tire compounds, styrene-butadiene rubber (SBR) and polybutadiene rubber (BR) can partially or fully replace polyisoprene rubber. Requires reformulation of the rubber compound; SBR/BR offer different wet-grip and rolling-resistance profiles. Widely used as a cost-driven substitute when isoprene prices are elevated. |
| Isobutylene (Isobutene) | In butyl rubber (IIR) production, isobutylene is the primary monomer (95%) and isoprene is the minor co-monomer (1–3%). If isoprene supply is constrained, producers may adjust the isoprene content or explore alternative diene co-monomers (e.g., cyclopentadiene) for specific butyl rubber grades, though this changes product properties. |
| Piperylene (1,3-Pentadiene) | In hydrocarbon resin production (C5 resins used in adhesives, coatings, and rubber compounding), piperylene-based resins can substitute for isoprene-based resins. Piperylene is a co-product of the same C5 steam-cracker stream and is used as a partial or full replacement depending on the resin specification and end-use adhesive performance requirements. |
| Chloroprene (2-Chloro-1,3-butadiene) | Polychloroprene (Neoprene) rubber substitutes for polyisoprene in applications requiring oil resistance, flame retardancy, and weathering resistance (e.g., industrial belts, hoses, wetsuits). It is not a drop-in replacement and requires full reformulation, but serves overlapping markets where polyisoprene's properties are insufficient. |
| Farnesene (Beta-farnesene) | Bio-based farnesene, produced by fermentation of sugarcane sugars (e.g., by Amyris), can be hydrogenated to farnesane or polymerized to produce specialty elastomers and lubricant base stocks that partially substitute for isoprene-derived products in high-performance tire and lubricant applications. Requires reformulation; currently a niche, higher-cost bio-alternative. |
| Bio-Isoprene | Isoprene produced via microbial fermentation (e.g., engineered E. coli or yeast expressing the mevalonate pathway, as developed by Genencor/Goodyear and others) is a chemically identical drop-in substitute for petrochemical isoprene. It can replace fossil-derived isoprene in all applications without reformulation, but is currently not cost-competitive at commercial scale and remains at demonstration/early commercial stage. |
Related PetroApex Market Pages
- Mixed C4 — the C4 stream that feeds the dehydrogenation route.
- Piperylene — the C5 diene co-produced in the same cracking stream.
- C5 Fraction — the C5 stream that carries isoprene.
Regulatory Status
| Region | Regulation / Policy Name | Issuing Authority | Year (enacted or latest revision) | Key Requirement / Threshold | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US | TSCA | EPA | 1976 (existing chemical inventory) | No specific emissions limits, exposure limits, or thresholds for isoprene; listed as existing chemical under TSCA with no dedicated risk management rule | EPA TSCA inventory and regulations (ep a.gov) |
| US | Clean Air Act (CAA) | EPA | 1970 (no specific isoprene regulation) | No numerical VOC emissions limits or thresholds; no specific regulation for isoprene under CAA Section 112 | EPA Clean Air Act regulations and searches |
| US | OSHA Permissible Exposure Limits | OSHA | 1970 (no PEL established) | No PEL; no numerical exposure limit | OSHA annotated PELs and regulatory tables |
| US | CAA - Synthetic Organic Chemical Manufacturing Industry (SOCMI) and Polymers and Resins NESHAP | EPA | 2024 (final rule) | Emissions reductions for chloroprene (closely related); no direct isoprene VOC or emissions threshold | EPA final rule under CAA |
| EU | REACH Regulation and CLP Regulation | ECHA | 2007 (classification 2023) | Presumed carcinogenic to humans (Category 1B); suspected mutagenic; no specific emission or aquatic toxicity threshold | ECHA dossier and substance infocard |
| EU | REACH Occupational Exposure Limit (OEL) Recommendation | ECHA | 2021 (proposed) | 3 ppm (8.5 mg/m³) 8-hour TWA (not yet binding EU-wide) | ECHA OEL recommendation dossier |
| China | Hazardous Chemicals Safety Law (new) | Ministry of Emergency Management (MEE) | 2025 (effective May 1, 2026) | Full lifecycle management, catalogue updates, no isoprene-specific threshold or prohibition | China Hazardous Chemicals Safety Law |
| China | Inventory of Existing Chemical Substances in China (IECSC) | Ministry of Ecology and Environment (MEE) | 2015 (ongoing additions) | Isoprene listed as existing chemical; no specific limits or thresholds | MEE IECSC updates |
Key Influence Events
Isoprene (2-methyl-1,3-butadiene, CAS 78-79-5) is a colorless, volatile, flammable liquid diene hydrocarbon with the molecular formula C5H8. It is the monomer of natural rubber and a key building block in the synthetic rubber and polymer industries. Commercially, isoprene is produced predominantly as a co-product of naphtha steam cracking (C5 fraction extraction) or via the catalytic dehydrogenation of isoamylenes (C5 olefins derived from isobutylene and isobutane). It polymerizes readily to form polyisoprene rubber, which closely mimics natural rubber in properties, and is also used to manufacture butyl rubber (with isobutylene), thermoplastic elastomers (SIS block copolymers), and various specialty chemicals including terpenes, vitamins, and pharmaceuticals.
Top Countries Production Capacity
Production Process of Isoprene Market Analysis: Price Trend, Trade Data and Rubber Demand
Isoprene (2-methyl-1,3-butadiene, CAS 78-79-5) is a colorless, volatile, flammable liquid diene hydrocarbon with the molecular formula C5H8. It is the monomer of natural rubber and a key building block in the synthetic rubber and polymer industries. Commercially, isoprene is produced predominantly as a co-product of naphtha steam cracking (C5 fraction extraction) or via the catalytic dehydrogenation of isoamylenes (C5 olefins derived from isobutylene and isobutane). It polymerizes readily to form polyisoprene rubber, which closely mimics natural rubber in properties, and is also used to manufacture butyl rubber (with isobutylene), thermoplastic elastomers (SIS block copolymers), and various specialty chemicals including terpenes, vitamins, and pharmaceuticals.
Specs & Grades
| Property | Typical Value / Range | Unit | Grade / Note |
|---|
Data Sources
Price and volume figures are derived from the directly verified public sources below. The customs unit values are USD/ton; they are not subscription price assessments. Numeric assay rows were removed because no public product-grade source is cited for them - confirm grade-level specifications with the supplier. Every monthly endpoint used for the series on this page is listed below, together with the HS classification reference.
- https://comtradeapi.un.org/public/v1/preview/C/M/HS?reporterCode=156,842,699,410,276,528,356,360,764,458,724,40,56,251,380,616,826,124,76,484,792,682,784,704,490,702,643,36,710,818,364,203,348,300,620,372,208,246,752,578,320,508&period=202508&cmdCode=290124&partnerCode=0&flowCode=X&includeDesc=true
- https://comtradeapi.un.org/public/v1/preview/C/M/HS?reporterCode=156,842,699,410,276,528,356,360,764,458,724,40,56,251,380,616,826,124,76,484,792,682,784,704,490,702,643,36,710,818,364,203,348,300,620,372,208,246,752,578,320,508&period=202509&cmdCode=290124&partnerCode=0&flowCode=X&includeDesc=true
- https://comtradeapi.un.org/public/v1/preview/C/M/HS?reporterCode=156,842,699,410,276,528,356,360,764,458,724,40,56,251,380,616,826,124,76,484,792,682,784,704,490,702,643,36,710,818,364,203,348,300,620,372,208,246,752,578,320,508&period=202510&cmdCode=290124&partnerCode=0&flowCode=X&includeDesc=true
- https://comtradeapi.un.org/public/v1/preview/C/M/HS?reporterCode=156,842,699,410,276,528,356,360,764,458,724,40,56,251,380,616,826,124,76,484,792,682,784,704,490,702,643,36,710,818,364,203,348,300,620,372,208,246,752,578,320,508&period=202511&cmdCode=290124&partnerCode=0&flowCode=X&includeDesc=true
- https://comtradeapi.un.org/public/v1/preview/C/M/HS?reporterCode=156,842,699,410,276,528,356,360,764,458,724,40,56,251,380,616,826,124,76,484,792,682,784,704,490,702,643,36,710,818,364,203,348,300,620,372,208,246,752,578,320,508&period=202512&cmdCode=290124&partnerCode=0&flowCode=X&includeDesc=true
- https://comtradeapi.un.org/public/v1/preview/C/M/HS?reporterCode=156,842,699,410,276,528,356,360,764,458,724,40,56,251,380,616,826,124,76,484,792,682,784,704,490,702,643,36,710,818,364,203,348,300,620,372,208,246,752,578,320,508&period=202601&cmdCode=290124&partnerCode=0&flowCode=X&includeDesc=true
- https://comtradeapi.un.org/public/v1/preview/C/M/HS?reporterCode=156,842,699,410,276,528,356,360,764,458,724,40,56,251,380,616,826,124,76,484,792,682,784,704,490,702,643,36,710,818,364,203,348,300,620,372,208,246,752,578,320,508&period=202602&cmdCode=290124&partnerCode=0&flowCode=X&includeDesc=true
- https://comtradeapi.un.org/public/v1/preview/C/M/HS?reporterCode=156,842,699,410,276,528,356,360,764,458,724,40,56,251,380,616,826,124,76,484,792,682,784,704,490,702,643,36,710,818,364,203,348,300,620,372,208,246,752,578,320,508&period=202603&cmdCode=290124&partnerCode=0&flowCode=X&includeDesc=true
- https://comtradeapi.un.org/public/v1/preview/C/M/HS?reporterCode=156,842,699,410,276,528,356,360,764,458,724,40,56,251,380,616,826,124,76,484,792,682,784,704,490,702,643,36,710,818,364,203,348,300,620,372,208,246,752,578,320,508&period=202604&cmdCode=290124&partnerCode=0&flowCode=X&includeDesc=true
- https://comtradeapi.un.org/public/v1/preview/C/M/HS?reporterCode=156,842,699,410,276,528,356,360,764,458,724,40,56,251,380,616,826,124,76,484,792,682,784,704,490,702,643,36,710,818,364,203,348,300,620,372,208,246,752,578,320,508&period=202605&cmdCode=290124&partnerCode=0&flowCode=X&includeDesc=true
- https://comtradeapi.un.org/public/v1/preview/C/M/HS?reporterCode=156,842,699,410,276,528,356,360,764,458,724,40,56,251,380,616,826,124,76,484,792,682,784,704,490,702,643,36,710,818,364,203,348,300,620,372,208,246,752,578,320,508&period=202606&cmdCode=290124&partnerCode=0&flowCode=X&includeDesc=true
- https://comtradeapi.un.org/public/v1/preview/C/M/HS?reporterCode=156,842,699,410,276,528,356,360,764,458,724,40,56,251,380,616,826,124,76,484,792,682,784,704,490,702,643,36,710,818,364,203,348,300,620,372,208,246,752,578,320,508&period=202607&cmdCode=290124&partnerCode=0&flowCode=X&includeDesc=true
- https://comtradeapi.un.org/files/v1/app/reference/HS.json
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