Isophthalic acid markets in the United States cooled after a March rally, as buyers and sellers rebalanced amid volatile landed costs and constrained domestic availability. Early March momentum rested on light merchant inventories and tight domestic-to-import balances, allowing sellers to push higher offers; late March maintained firmness supported by freight premiums and feedstock inflation. In early April the market reversed some gains as prompt rebalancing and spot activity accelerated a correction. Overall tone remains sensitive to upstream aromatics, freight risk premiums, and limited incremental domestic output. Demand across coatings and resin applications supported activity, while import flows and opportunistic buying faced resistance from elevated logistics costs. Kingsport’s constrained run-rate and domestic producers covering about sixty percent of demand kept merchant stocks light and supported peak landed indications in late March. The market continues to reflect tighter supply, higher input costs, and thinner cushions. Near-term outlook points to stability to modest firmness, with volatility likely as freight and upstream costs evolve.
Selenis has effectively manufactured recycled PET chips using terephthalic acid sourced from Circ®, a textile-to-textile recycler based in Virginia. The chip production took place through a series of batches at Selenis' pilot plant in San-Giorgio, Italy. By utilizing inputs recovered from polycotton textile waste, Selenis has created high-quality PET chip, which has been further processed into DTY yarn. This yarn will play a crucial role in product development as Circ prepares for additional capsule launches. Selenis is leveraging the success of this initial collaboration phase and is committed to advancing towards an offtake partnership to support Circ's inaugural industrial facility.
Eduardo Santos, Head of Corporate Strategy at Selenis, remarked that the monomer synthesis showed a performance comparable to virgin terephthalic acid. He expressed optimism about the consistent quality of Circ's monomer output and anticipated future commercial success. Santos pointed out that the Circ partnership complements Selenis's existing mission and goals for a more sustainable textile industry. He further stated their anticipation of expanding upon this collaboration and providing support for Circ's forthcoming commercial production trials.
