PET Prices

摘要

The PET industry isn't very attractive this summer. Industry observers report that virgin packaging resin prices are coming under downward pressure because of new North American production capacity coming on stream. For example, DAK Americas (Charlotte, North Carolina) has begun production at its 330-million-pound-per-year PET bottle resin plant in Cooper River, South Carolina. The overall expansion in North America this year tops one billion pounds per year of resin-making capacity. At the same time, resin makers are experiencing tight margins due to rising costs for para-xylene and purified terephthalic acid. On the fiber side, the market also is fairly ugly with domestic fiber demand in the doldrums and a rising tide of textile imports continuing to hurt domestic demand for polyester fiber. The U.S. textile industry is seeking trade relief because of a loss of nearly one-fourth of the industry's jobs since January 2001. The situation is similar in other polyester markets and affects the PET recycling industry. Wellman (Shrewsbury, New Jersey), for instance, has shuttered half of its recycling operation for more than a year.