US BOPET film prices moved higher in March as geopolitical disruption and rising logistics costs outweighed inventory relief. Early March saw spot levels unchanged, while caution among buyers kept activity modest. By late March, shipping rerouting and insurance surcharges, along with tighter upstream markets, pushed offers higher and shifted sentiment from rangebound to firmer ahead of the pre-summer restocking window for FMCG packaging. Demand remained concentrated in the packaging sector, with applications across flexible packaging, labelling, industrial films, food packaging, beverage labelling and consumer packaging. Domestic converters ran at steady rates, with roughly equal shares of domestic production and imports, leaving buyers to balance routine requirements with cautious procurement. Upstream cost pressure remained a dominant factor, as PTA/PET feedstock costs rose on higher crude, naphtha and paraxylene, compressing margins and lifting landed costs via freight and insurance surcharges. Forecasts point to continued upward pressure through spring, driven by supply disruptions, longer shipping routes, and pre-summer restocking, with a demand stance.
