Bulk solids are the raw material for almost every polymeric thermoplastic product. Their properties determine the quality of solids conveying and also influence the melting behavior of the material in processing units. This study investigates the influence of pressure and temperature on the bulk density of two thermoplastic polypropylene pellets of different shapes. Furthermore, the external friction dependent on temperature and pressure of those materials is examined at conditions usually occurring in the solids conveying zone of smooth barrel plasticating units. The experiments are carried out using a tribometer for polymer pellets which was adapted for these tests by making the sample chamber, the piston, and the cylindrical roll heatable. The tests show that long cylindrical pellets exhibit low bulk densities at low pressure and temperature, which can be increased dramatically—even above the values of spheroidal pellets—as those parameters increase. Moreover, the external coefficient of friction is always higher for the long cylinders and strongly dependent on the temperature. Those facts add up and can cause a higher output of single‐screw extruders. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2015, 132, 42197.