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US PET collection falls, rPET demand weakens: NAPCOR
US PET collection falls, rPET demand weakens: NAPCOR
Houston, 12 June (Argus) — US polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottle collection rates fell in 2024 while demand for recycled material weakened, despite gains in recovery and processing capacity, according to the National Association for PET Container Resources (NAPCOR). The US PET bottle collection rate declined to 30.2pc in 2024 after falling from 32.5pc a year earlier, even as the total volume of bottles available for recycling rose by 3.5pc to about 6mn lb, NAPCOR said in its 2024 PET Recycling Report . At the same time, total consumption of recycled PET (rPET) across US and Canadian end markets dropped, highlighting weaker demand for recycled material. The data show a growing imbalance in the PET recycling market, where supply and recovery are improving but end-market demand is failing to keep pace. Supply expands as rPET demand falters On the supply side, PET availability continued to expand. Imports of virgin and recycled PET for bottle applications increased by 8pc in 2024, while US reclaimers processed 1.97bn lb of material, up by 1.5pc from the previous year. Thermoform recovery recorded the most significant growth. Total recovered PET thermoforms in the US and Canada jumped by 52pc to 264mn lb, driven largely by improved identification of thermoform material in bottle bales and advances in sorting and reclamation technologies. But these gains were not matched by stronger demand for recycled content. Post-consumer recycled (PCR) content use in PET thermoforms fell sharply, dropping to around 12pc from 18pc a year earlier. The decline reflects shifting end-market dynamics and economic pressures. Growth in food and foodservice packaging, which typically uses lower levels of recycled content, diluted overall PCR rates even as the mix of virgin and recycled inputs remained largely unchanged, NAPCOR said. High prices curb recycled PET demand Pricing dynamics played a central role. The premium for rPET over virgin PET widened significantly, reaching as much as 38pc on the US east coast, compared with around 11pc at the start of 2024. "There was an increasing premium for recycled PET over the course of 2024… At its highest point, there was a 38pc premium for east coast rPET pellet over virgin," NAPCOR said in an emailed response to Argus. "This means the cost pressure for recycled-content usage ramped up through most of the year, which certainly would have impacted some converters' decisions." Higher domestic rPET prices also encouraged substitution toward lower-cost alternatives. Imports of rPET rose to a record 395mn lb, accounting for 23pc of total consumption, while some manufacturers shifted back to virgin resin. Although thermoform recovery increased sharply, most of this material continues to be processed alongside bottles rather than recycled back into thermoform packaging. The largest end market for recycled PET remains food and beverage bottles, limiting closed-loop systems for thermoforms. Technical barriers are no longer the primary constraint; economics remains the key challenge. "Meeting food-contact requirements is not difficult if the right technology and machinery are used… The biggest barrier to thermoform-to-thermoform recycling for food-contact applications may be cost," NAPCOR said. Looking ahead, NAPCOR pointed to policy as a potential driver of stronger demand. While several US states have introduced recycled content mandates, most do not apply to non-bottle rigid packaging such as thermoforms. New Jersey remains an exception, with a 10pc recycled content requirement for non-food rigid plastic packaging that will expand to include food-contact applications in 2027. "Because brands and converters can back away from voluntary commitments… mandates or eco-modulation incentives through EPR programs would be promising avenues to boost PCR usage in thermoforms," NAPCOR said. Absent stronger policy support or more favorable pricing dynamics, continued gains in PET recovery may not translate into higher recycled content use, reinforcing structural imbalances across the recycling value chain. By Dona Davis Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
US DOE: Roughly 7mn b/d moving through Hormuz
US DOE: Roughly 7mn b/d moving through Hormuz
Houston, 12 June (Argus) — About 7mn b/d of crude and oil products are moving through the strait of Hormuz, US energy secretary Chris Wright said today, but other industry sources dispute that figure. The 7mn b/d is "a rough average of where we are right now, and it's rising," Wright said at the Bloomberg Energy Security Executive Briefing in Houston, Texas, Friday. The number is about half of the 14mn b/d gap in supply caused by the de facto closing of the waterway since the start of the war, which also saw several million barrels a day diverted through regional pipelines, Wright said. A very large crude carrier (VLCC) carries 2mn bl of crude so Wright's estimate is equivalent to about 3.5 VLCCs a day. But oil major Chevron's chief executive Mike Wirth, who spoke later at the same event, raised doubts about Wright's 7mn b/d estimate. "It's probably not quite that much," Wirth said. "There are ships that have been transiting out, typically with transponders off, typically at night, and with some support from the US military," he added. The US' claims come at a time when visible commercial traffic through the waterway fell to some of its lowest levels since the conflict began. Mideast Gulf crude exports through the strait in June have averaged between 226,000-330,000 b/d, according to vessel tracking data from Kpler and Vortexa, but those figures likely undercount the total because vessels are turning their Automatic Identification System data while in the region to avoid attention. Maritime consultancy Windward data shows such "dark" transits through Hormuz have averaged four vessels across all segments per day this week, although those figures could include ships other than crude and refined products tankers. Prior to the war's start an average of 130 ships passed through the strait daily.Mideast and crude flows were about 14mn-15mn b/d. Mideast Gulf exports of energy, fertilizer and other commodities have been heavily limited since the start of the war in Iran, which has used the threat of attacks and naval mines to restrict traffic through the strait of Hormuz. The US and Iran are closing in on a deal to end military hostilities, even as they spar over the terms of an agreement that President Donald Trump says could be signed soon. But even if a deal is close to being signed, ship operators remain reluctant to send their tankers through the strait because of the high risk to seafarers, and will likely need to see sustained stability in the region for transits to meaningfully rebound to anything near pre-war levels. Since the war started, there have been 46 vessel attacks with 14 seafarer deaths, according to the International Maritime Organization (IMO). In its latest Short-Term Energy Outlook the US Energy Information Administration said it does not expect Hormuz traffic to recover to pre-war levels until at least early 2027. Trump said on Wednesday that the US military has been facilitating the transit of oil tankers through the strait. The US Navy is not actively escorting vessels through the strait of Hormuz, but is helping to "coach" vessels through a corridor south of the typical strait of Hormuz traffic lanes that cuts through Omani territorial waters, according to marine insurer Skuld. By Eunice Bridges and Nicholas Watt Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
European longs steel traders see weaker 2H
European longs steel traders see weaker 2H
London, 12 June (Argus) — Steel market participants are expecting a slower, lower-margin second half of 2026 following the supply-led rally in prices over the first half of the year. Long steel prices in particular rose very sharply in the several weeks following the outbreak of the war in the Middle East, with electric arc furnace mills highly exposed to rising energy costs. Supply constraints and regulatory uncertainty — fuelled first by the launch of the EU's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) and compounded by impending 1 July tightening to EU and UK steel quotas — drove buyer restocking over the past several months. But now, trading sources note, the attention of steel market participants is shifting from supply over to demand, which is lacking. As per Argus ' assessments, following the outbreak of the US-Israel war with Iran at the start of March, rebar prices rose €167.50/t ($194/t) in Italy by the end of May, and by €100/t in Germany and Spain over the same period. Many traders held significant inventory at the time the war broke out, having stocked up ahead of CBAM, so benefited greatly from the surge in prices. But a source at a major European trading firm said margins in the second half of the year are set to be much weaker, as prices are softening on weak demand. Argus ' monthly German rebar assessment fell by €15/t on 10 June to €695/t delivered, while the weekly domestic Italian assessment has fallen by €25/t so far this month, standing at €705/t ex-works as of 10 June. Market participants have noted that prices for finished products did not match the swift gains of mills' long steel prices over March-May. At the same time, several traders have commented that the steel and other commodity markets have become less reactive to the developments in the Middle East war. Escalated strikes by the US in Iran this week prompted little or no movement in either steel or oil prices. Many market participants are, however, concerned about the medium-term deflationary impact of what they believe would be an oversupply of oil if the strait of Hormuz were to open. For the time being, the European Central Bank's interest rate hike yesterday sets the tone for the next few months — with construction projects already facing elevated material and transport costs, higher borrowing costs will weigh on housing demand. By Brendan Kjellberg-Motton Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
No value in making copper cathodes in Brazil: Vale
No value in making copper cathodes in Brazil: Vale
Brasilia, 12 June (Argus) — There is no value in making copper cathodes in Brazil, as producing red-metal concentrate already aggregates most of the gains a producer can have, a spokesperson for Vale Base Metals (VBM) said at a market event on 10 June. Concentrate aggregates 90-94pc of the value in copper's supply chain, leaving little gains in moving further downstream and producing copper cathodes, said VBM's corporate affairs director José Luiz Marques at the event organized by Brazil's mining institute Ibram. Marques explained that, especially in a high-price environment such as today's, VBM is already maximizing value through copper concentrate production. "When copper demand rises, treatment and refining charges (TC/RC) plunge, which is good for concentrate producers," Marques said, explaining that VBM prices its concentrate based on a formula consisting on London Metal Exchange figures, minus TC/RC fees and specific discounts depending on impurities. This means that the lower the processing fees, the higher the price of the concentrate. "It is a great time to be a copper miner these days," he said during a panel at the Ibram event. The costs to implement a smelter are very high, so there is not enough value added over the concentrate to make an investment worthwhile, according to Marques. "The aggregated value of copper concentrate needs to be around 60-65pc to make copper cathodes a valuable addition to Vale," he said, noting that few jurisdictions are able to profit from smelting. Criticism of Brazil's critical minerals bill Brazil's critical minerals bill , which considers all mineral resources and commercial partners equal, should have looked at copper through a different lens, Marques argued. Marques argued that copper has a much more established and liquid market than all other critical minerals, which should have been accounted for in the bill. Half of the bill's financial benefits are contingent on companies "processing and transforming" critical minerals in Brazil. As VBM and other local copper producers stand to gain little value in doing so, they could be prevented from accessing over R5bn in tax credits in a five-year period. VBM is slated to invest $10bn in the next 10 years in Carajás, its flagship copper asset. VBM's Marques also argued that the bill does not cover the most-needed improvement for Brazilian critical mineral producers: celerity. "It takes an average of 17 years to start-up a copper project in Brazil, and in 15 years the world will be in a supply deficit, so the numbers don't match," he said. "Only with celerity and agility in bureaucratic processes will Brazil be able to compete in the global copper industry." He noted that China added one-third of its smelting capacity in the last 10 years as a successful example of agile processes. Marques echoed the criticisms of fellow panelists at the Ibram conference, who pointed to slow environmental licensing and little predictability with bureaucratic processes, especially regarding timelines. By Pedro Consoli Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
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