World Analysis - Polyester

Long-term outlook to 2060

Polyethylene terephthalate (PET), commonly known as polyester, is the key polymer used to produce polyester fibers, PET packaging resins, and oriented PET (OPET) films. Polyester fibers—including staple fiber, textile filament, and industrial filament—represent roughly two-thirds of total global polyester demand, while PET packaging resins account for just under 30%. The balance consists of OPET films and other specialty end uses. Although growth in PET packaging resins and films has slowed relative to fibers, medium- and long-term expansion is expected to broadly track fiber demand.

Global demand for fibers of all types—cotton, polyester, nylon, viscose, wool, and acrylic—is supported by population growth and rising per-capita consumption among expanding middle-class populations in developing markets. Polyester fiber now holds more than 50% of the global fiber market and remains the largest-volume fiber category. Its competitive cost position, manufacturability, and performance advantages over alternative natural and synthetic fibers have enabled polyester to capture the largest share of global fiber demand growth.

PET packaging resin growth continues to be driven primarily by beverage bottles, along with increasing usage in food and health drink packaging. However, the industry is facing rising regulatory and brand-owner pressures to increase the use of recycled PET (rPET). Globally, most collected PET waste is processed into rPET for fiber applications, where quality specifications are less stringent than for bottle-grade resins. As a result, rPET is predominantly used as a lower-cost substitute for virgin materials in noncritical fiberfill and textile applications. In contrast, producing food-grade rPET suitable for beverage containers requires significantly higher cleaning and processing rigor, often resulting in production costs above those of virgin PET. Despite this, major brand owners and retailers are increasingly willing to pay price premiums to incorporate rPET into their packaging portfolios due to sustainability commitments.

Long-term outlook to 2060

The World Analysis—Polyester provides an in-depth assessment of the global polyester  market, providing comprehensive analysis and strategic insights into the key developments shaping long-term supply, demand, trade, and pricing outlooks. This service equips industry participants with the analytical foundation needed to navigate market volatility and anticipate structural shifts across the polyester value chain.

Subscribers gain access to a full suite of reports, data files, analytical tools, and visualization modules, available online and downloadable from our website, including:

• A strategic report outlining critical insights and the future trajectory of global and regional markets

• Online Data Browser access to supply, demand, and capacity databases

• Continuously updated company/shareholder capacity listings, capacity integration analysis, and rankings of top producers/consumers, including surplus/deficit capacity profiles

• A comprehensive Data Appendix (Excel) featuring supply/demand and capacity tables, plus a dashboard with standard visualizations for all countries and regions

• Excel data files with long-range supply/demand graphics and price forecasts through 2060, along with detailed trade grids showing country- and region-level trade flows with 5- and 10-year projections

• An interactive online dashboard visualizing capacity, integration, supply/demand balances, trade flows, and price, cost, and margin forecasts

• Explanatory Notes detailing data sources, methodology, assumptions, units, conversion factors, and full World Analysis deliverables

• Energy and macroeconomic assumptions used in the long-term outlook

• Price assessment methodology and forecasting framework

This World Analysis provides detailed intelligence on capacities, production, demand, and trade across all major producing and consuming countries, regions, and global hubs. While robust data collection underpins the historical and forward views, the true value of the service lies in the expert interpretation and market analysis applied by our global team.

Data verification is a central pillar of our approach. Direct engagement with key industry participants ensures that our conclusions reflect real-world market behavior and deliver the most accurate, realistic forward outlook for the global polyester industry.

Long-term outlook to 2060