HOUSTON (ICIS)–As 2022 draws to a close,
senior editor Emily Friedman discusses the 2023
US polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and
recycled polyethylene terephthalate (R-PET)
market outlooks with colleagues Melissa
Wheeler, US PET market reporter, and Antulio
Borneo, vice president of the PET Chain,
covering the Americas.
-
While PET sees mixed feedstock and
supply principles, R-PET continues to be
limited by a shortage of recycled PET bottles
on low collection rates -
Both PET and R-PET seasonal bottle
demand is expected to be strong, though under
downwards pressure on recessionary
headwinds -
Sustainability-driven packaging
trends will continue to promote the use of
PET
PET resins can be broadly classified into
bottle, fibre or film grade, named according to
the downstream applications. Bottle grade resin
is the most commonly traded form of PET resin
and it is used in bottle and container
packaging through blow moulding and
thermoforming.
Fibre grade resin goes into making polyester
fibre, while film grade resin is used in
electrical and flexible packaging applications.
PET can be compounded with glass fibre for the
production of engineering plastics.
