PET bale prices continue to climb

Reclaimers say prices for curbside and deposit polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottle bales have had a strong start to 2023, having increased each month since September of last year. Despite the month-over-month increases, PET bale prices remain considerably less than the highs reached in April and May of last year.

A PET reclaimer based in the Northeast says scrap is available, likely aided by the mild winter weather the region has been experiencing as of mid-February.

“In general, prices have been higher than would be expected this time of year,” he says. “Historically, the first quarter is always the slowest of the year by far.”

A PET reclaimer in the Midwest says bales generally are more available than they typically would be this time of year, also aided by the mild winter in the region. She notes pricing also is higher than at this time in 2022.

“A year ago, it was abysmally low,” she says of PET bale pricing. “I’m not sure how any of the collection guys were surviving. The rebound in pricing is healthy for the market.”

The PET reclaimer based in the Northeast mentions the ramp-up in bale pricing last year to historically unseen highs, which was followed by a precipitous crash he describes as “expected.” He says the current ramp-up in pricing has been faster than projected given the overall economy. “The economy is not going gangbusters,” he says.

The PET reclaimed in the Northeast says strong demand for bales is coming out of the Southeast, which is where many producers of recycled PET for the textile or flooring market operate. He says this seems somewhat disjointed given the high-interest-rate environment and its effect on the housing sector. “The carpet, flooring and textile business doesn’t seem like it would be extraordinarily busy right now.”

In the non-Food and Drug Administration-approved high-density polyethylene (HDPE) sector, a reclaimer on the West Coast says the year is off to a slow start, saying, “I’m hoping it will pick up."

With supply chain tensions having eased somewhat and trucking being easier to secure, the HDPE reclaimer says companies don’t feel the need to warehouse large volumes of material anymore as they did in the early part of last year.

While he says natural HDPE remains in demand, mixed-color HDPE is “in the toilet” given the low interest from the nursery and housing sectors. However, the HDPE reclaimer says automotive demand remains relatively strong.

Regarding the outlook for HDPE this year, he says he is by nature an optimist but also wants to be a realist. As HDPE consumers struggle to make ends meet and manage their books in the current economic environment, the reclaimer says natural HDPE pricing could soften.

Moving material has gotten a bit easier in recent months, sources say, with trucking availability seemingly improving.

The HDPE reclaimer says pricing in certain lanes has decreased by 50 percent from the highs seen in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic, though he says pricing is still higher than it was prepandemic. 

The PET reclaimer in the Northeast says while availability has improved somewhat, trucking is “still way more expensive than it was a couple of years ago.”

He says 2 cents per pound used to be the benchmark for transporting PET; now, it’s 4 cents to 5 cents per pound. 

The reclaimer based in the Midwest says her company is having less trouble securing trucks than it did six months ago. However, she says, pricing has not been reduced despite the decline in gas prices. Given that the driver shortage was one of the reasons given for the tightness in the trucking market, she adds that pricing might not be decreasing because trucking companies have to pay more to entice drivers.