US supplier Eastman nominated a 2 cents/lb ($44/mt) price hike effective October 1 on PET for the NAFTA region, in addition to the industry-wide plus 3 cents/lb already on the table for September 1, according to a letter sent to customers Wednesday.

    
The increase was necessary "due to the uncertainty in raw material movement for the month of October," the letter said.

    
No other manufacturer had an October nomination immediately on the table, but at least two were considering it.

    
Rising feedstocks were putting upward pressure on the polymer.

    
The September PX ACP concluded up $60/mt at $950/mt CFR on August 31, and many expected the US PX to jump the same amount, or the equivalent of nearly 3 cents/lb. MEG also rose roughly 1.75 cents/lb in September. Based on these estimates, potential raw material increases from PTA and MEG this month are about 2.3 cents/lb.

    
Furthermore, PET makers did not issue a hike in August, as they assumed the US PX CP would fall, in line with what transpired in Asia and Europe. However, in a surprising move, the US August paraxylene contract settled up 1.5 cents/lb ($33.10/mt) at a pre-discounted 46.5 cents/lb. As such, some may try to recover lost margin.

    
Last week, the US rail car contract price closed at $1,345-1,367/mt.