The bottled water market may be showing signs of slowing, but prices for PET bottle resin aren't taking a break.
PET climbed an average of 3 cents per pound in North America in February, tied to a bump in demand and tighter supplies of feedstocks.
The increase came after a surprise 5-cent jump in bottle resin prices in January.
PET demand overall 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.
At a recent industry conference, Plastics News reporter Jim Johnson wrote that BMC Managing Director Gary Hemphill said the bottled water category grew by 0.5 percent in 2023, according to preliminary data. That's down from 1.1 percent in 2022 and much higher growth rates ranging from 3.7 percent to 6.1 percent annually from 2017 to 2021.
The bottled water industry, in total, measured nearly 16 billion gallons in 2023, widening its gap as the largest volume beverage consumed by American consumers.
"Bottled water keeps chugging along," he said, "but its growth has slowed a bit.