AKRON, OHIO — A recent drop in North American PET bottle resin prices is featured in this week's Material Insights video.
Regional PET bottle resin prices fell a total of 7 cents per pound in March and April. The drop was split between two in March and 5 in April. Lower beverage demand caused by cool spring weather in much of the U.S. was a factor in the price slide.
North American polyethylene supply issues also are featured in this week's video. Formosa Plastics Corp. USA has returned two of its three HDPE lines to production after a May 2 fire in Point Comfort, Texas. While in Baytown, Texas, Chevron Phillips Chemical Co. has declared force majeure on PE after small amounts of chemical feedstocks were released during an incinerator shutdown on May 9 and 10.
The video wraps up with news that sustainable chemicals maker BioAmber Inc. raised $80 million in an initial public offering of its stock on May 10. The Minneapolis firm makes bio-feedstocks that are used in bio-based polybutylene polymers. BioAmber operates a pilot plant in France and is planning to build a larger-scale plant in Sarnia, Ontario.