DAK Americas Closes Cooper River Site PET Manufacturing Facility in South Carolina

USA: DAK Americas LLC, a division of Monterrey, Mexico-based Alpek, permanently closed a facility along the Cooper River that produces Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) resin. As of 1st March, all PET resin production at the Cooper River plant has been suspended indefinitely.

Prior to the peak season, there has been currently little demand in the PET industry. However, demand is anticipated to increase in the coming weeks of March and April 2023. However, inventory levels are still high this week due to low demand. Moreover, the PET market continues to see weaker profit margins due to feedstock Paraxylene price volatility. The existing state of refineries is the cause of the volatility in Paraxylene prices. Meanwhile, the abrupt shutdown of a US-based chemical firm in South Carolina that produced the raw materials for goods like water bottles and packaging has left 125 individuals now jobless.

According to the Analyst, the market for PET bottles is currently depressed, and sellers are worried that future price negotiation may not persist, which could create an unstable market in the longer term. As a result, during the final week of February, the price for PET bottle grades decreased due to the uncertain demand outlook. Since that time, the price of PET in the US market has steadied.

DAK Americas is the largest integrated producer of PET resins in the world and the major manufacturer of Polyester in the Americas. Alpek S.A. de CV, a business unit of Alfa SAB, de CV, one of Mexico's leading international industrial conglomerates, is the parent company of DAK Americas.

According to the ChemAnalyst prediction, "The price of PET bottles is still expected to be altered, owing to uncertain pricing for the feedstocks Paraxylene and MEG. Although the demand for PET bottles is anticipated to increase as summer approaches, thus there may be some positive movement in the product prices in the upcoming weeks".