North American PET bottle resin prices dropped a total of 3 cents per pound on average in November and December while prices for nylon and polycarbonate continued to fall through the last quarter of 2023.
Market sources cited lower demand and steady feedstock costs as reasons for the PET price drop. Prices had fallen 4 cents in October.
PET prices finished 2023 down a net of 4 cents per pound. PET demand was lower than expected in 2023, even during the warmer summer months.
Bottled water — the largest beverage segment in the U.S. and a major consumer of PET — continues to grow, but has slowed in recent years, according to a recent report from the Beverage Marketing Corp. consulting firm.
"The sort of growth that saw it double in volume in less than a decade … while still outperforming other major beverage types no longer characterizes the category," BMC said.
"Nonetheless, by any objective measure, the bottled water category has been the greatest success story in the history of the beverage industry — and the story is far from over," it added.
Bottled water in recent years displaced carbonated soft drinks as the biggest beverage segment in the U.S. Although CSD losses have slowed in recent years, BMC said that all regions of the U.S. "are expected to have dwindling per capita [CSD] consumption in the next five years."
