From the CEO
Good morning folks,
As we enter the last full week of 2025, markets are shifting into holiday mode. Manufacturers are taking a more passive stance heading into 2026, with extended maintenance now showing up on schedules. That planned downtime—alongside recent Fed stimulus—should help support resin prices after a weak year.
Last week, the Fed cut rates by 25 bps, and Chair Jerome Powell's comments suggested continued stimulus to support a soft jobs market. The White House signaled the cut wasn't enough, and Trump is expected to appoint a new Fed chair in May. Markets anticipate a more openly pro-growth stance—supportive for pricing and volumes going into 2026.
The big question is demand. We have been in a period of contraction in manufacturing purchasing activity for 37 months now, the longest in history. Unless demand materially improves in 2026, we expect producers to idle older assets. Pressure on recyclers will likely persist, and so far we haven't seen broad, direct impacts from EPR. We're also hearing recyclers discuss pivoting into other manufacturing services as they prepare for a tougher environment.
We also expect AI adoption in supply chains to accelerate as tools move from "foundation model" potential to real operational impact. Equity markets are betting heavily on efficiency gains—2026 feels like the year we'll learn how real (and how fast) those gains are. For Matium, 2026 is the year where we will begin to automate large volume commodity sales into the market—marking a major milestone for the company and the market overall.
To our Matium network—and everyone working every day to build stronger communities and a better future—thank you. Wishing you a wonderful holiday season. See you in 2026!
Thank you,
Bailey Robin - Cofounder/CEO
Key Indicators
| Indicator | Current | MoM | QoQ | YoY |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Federal Funds Rate, % (FEDFUNDS) | 3.88 | -0.21 | -0.31 | -0.89 |
| PPI - Plastics and Resin (PCU325211325211) | 311.0 | -3.0 | -6.0 | -1.0 |
| PPI - Ocean Freight Rate (PCU483111483111) | 399.3 | 12.8 | -12.1 | -5.5 |
| PPI - Trucking Rate (PCU484484) | 190.1 | -0.8 | 4.7 | 3.1 |
| PMI - Manufacturing (ISM) | 48.2 | -0.5 | -0.1 | 0.8 |
| US Plastics Imports, $B | 5.58 | -0.26 | 0.12 | -0.18 |
| US Plastics Exports, $B | 6.29 | -0.26 | -0.22 | -0.09 |
| US Plastics Production Index (IPG326S) | 94.7 | 0.3 | -1.1 | -1.9 |
Sources: FRED, ISM, US Census.
Markets & Trade
1. Weekly Chemistry and Economic Trends (12-12-25)
Source: American Chemistry Council
U.S. chemical production rose marginally by 0.1% in September with a 1.4% increase compared to the previous year, while production declined in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast regions, signaling regional disparities.
Chinese chemical output decreased by 0.1% in October due to Typhoon Ragasa disruptions but maintained strong export performance with a 9.7% year-on-year production increase, reflecting resilience in the Asia market.
European chemical production contracted by 0.5% in October amid high energy costs and trade uncertainties, contributing to a 2.6% year-on-year decline, while South American output also declined 0.5% amid regional economic and trade tensions.
Wholesale chemical inventories rose 0.2% in September despite a 0.9% sales decline that month; inventories were 2.5% lower year-over-year, with an inventory-to-sales ratio rising slightly to 1.09, indicating cautious stock management within the sector.
2. Plastics Economic Analysis: Early Indicators Point to Improving Market Conditions in Plastics Manufacturing
Source: Plastic Industry Association
The U.S. plastics manufacturing sector has experienced early signs of market improvement after several years of slowdown driven by higher interest rates.
The manufacturing sector, as the primary customer of plastics, slowed due to increased borrowing costs when the federal funds rate reached around 4.00%, causing a corresponding slowdown in plastics production.
Despite production constraints, manufacturers maintained supply by drawing down elevated inventories, supporting steady demand for plastic products across the economy.
Recent economic data indicate a gradual recovery in plastics manufacturing output, suggesting improved market conditions moving forward.
Business & Corporate Strategy
1. ProAmpac to Acquire TC Transcontinental Packaging for $1.5 Billion
Source: Recycling Today
ProAmpac has signed a definitive agreement to acquire TC Transcontinental Packaging (TCP) for $1.51 billion, aiming to close the transaction by Q1 2026, pending regulatory and shareholder approvals.
The acquisition will expand ProAmpac's manufacturing capacity and geographic footprint across North America, Latin America, the UK, and New Zealand, enhancing its presence in dairy, meat, medical, and pharmaceutical packaging markets.
This strategic move aligns with ProAmpac's growth strategy fueled by both organic development and acquisitions, positioning the company to meet rising customer demand for innovative and sustainable flexible packaging offerings.
2. PetStar Pet Recycling Plant Expands
Source: Recycling Today
PetStar completed a $143 million expansion of its PET recycling plant in Toluca, increasing its annual recycling capacity from 50,000 to 86,000 tons of food-grade recycled resin.
The upgraded facility will process over 123,000 tons of PET annually, equivalent to recycling 5.5 billion bottles, supporting a circular economy for Coca-Cola System bottlers in Mexico.
This expansion strengthens the PET collection infrastructure nationwide and promotes inclusive socioeconomic benefits by generating over 2,200 formal jobs and 49,000 indirect jobs in recycling and collection.
The project showcases Mexico's leadership in PET recycling in the Americas and reinforces the commitment of key stakeholders to advance bottle-to-bottle recycling and sustainable packaging solutions.
3. D6 Acquires Illinois Extrusion Facility
Source: Recycling Today
D6 Inc. has acquired the Richmond, Illinois extrusion facility, adding over 40 million pounds of annual extrusion capacity, which enhances its domestic manufacturing footprint and closed-loop operating model.
The facility integration supports processing clean washed flake from D6's Omni Recycling Center, strengthening value chain control and enabling seamless conversion from reclaimed feedstock to finished food-grade PCR packaging.
This acquisition reinforces D6's strategic expansion of its circular infrastructure by unifying recycling, extrusion, and thermoforming capabilities to supply sustainable packaging solutions at scale.
The expanded extrusion capacity improves operational resilience, material security, and accelerates capacity growth to meet long-term customer demand in the food-grade recycled plastics packaging market.
4. Phoenix Technologies Closes Ohio rPET Facility
Source: Recycling Today
Phoenix Technologies International LLC, a major U.S. rPET producer owned by Taiwan-based Far Eastern New Century Corp., has closed its Bowling Green, Ohio recycling facility, resulting in seven layoffs.
The closure followed attempts to reduce costs through supplier negotiations and overhead cuts, reflecting operational and economic challenges despite previous expansion efforts.
In late 2022, Phoenix Technologies had announced plans to double its rPET resin capacity at the Bowling Green site by mid-2023, aiming to process 5 billion bottles annually, but these plans have now been halted.
Innovation & Technology
1. Circular Colorado Establishes Innovation Hub for Product Development
Source: Recycling Today
Circular Colorado has launched NextRun, an innovation hub in Loveland designed to bridge the gap between material recovery facilities and manufacturers by developing market-ready products from recycled materials.
NextRun will leverage on-site fabrication equipment (including CNC machines, 3D printers, metal benders, and woodworking tools) to prototype and scale production of products made from various recycled material streams, from concept to commercial manufacture.
The hub offers both co-production partnerships for established companies and custom development services for organizations needing R&D support, providing access to advanced manufacturing technology and circular economy expertise.
The first phase of NextRun is scheduled to launch in the second half of 2026, focusing on recycled plastic products, with plans to expand to construction and demolition waste streams in later phases.
2. Recycling with an Eye on Precision
Source: Recycling Today
Sesotec GmbH collaborates with Steinbeis Polyvert to enhance sorting and recycling processes for postconsumer plastic scrap, focusing on high-quality granulate production from PET, HDPE, and PP plastics.
The partnership developed a new sorting line based on extensive trials that integrate Varisort, Unity, Varisort+ Flex, and Flake Purifier+ systems to improve material fraction purity and real-time composition analysis.
Cutting-edge AI-enhanced multisensor sorting technology enables detection of challenging materials, such as black plastics on black conveyor belts, improving sorting precision beyond traditional color evaluation methods.
Steinbeis Polyvert employs the Flake Scan analysis system for rapid quality assessment before extrusion, enabling efficient decision-making in plastic flake usability and supporting high standards in recycled pellet production.
Sustainability & Resource Management
1. Emerald Packaging Replaces More Than 1M Pounds of Virgin Plastic
Source: Recycling Today
Emerald Packaging has replaced over 1 million pounds of virgin polyethylene with postconsumer recycled (PCR) material in flexible packaging, advancing circular economy efforts in the produce industry.
The company collaborated with partners including Idaho Package, Wada Farms, Walmart, and D'Arrigo Bros. to introduce 30% food-contact PCR bags that meet stringent performance standards, notably eliminating significant volumes of virgin plastic in potato and lettuce packaging.
These initiatives support Walmart's Project Gigaton emission reduction goals and demonstrate the technical feasibility of scaling PCR usage without compromising packaging quality or environmental objectives.
2. NAPCOR Report Portrays Resiliency in North American PET Industry
Source: Recycling Today
NAPCOR's 2024 PET Recycling Report highlights the resiliency of the North American PET industry despite ongoing market volatility, with PET bottle collection rates consistently exceeding global benchmarks.
The report notes a slight year-over-year decline in the PET bottle recycling rate to 30.2% in 2024, yet this remains above the previous decade's average, reflecting sustained collection efforts and system performance.
Significant growth in PET thermoform recovery, up 52% to 264 million pounds, along with a 1% increase in total reclaimer inputs, indicate expanding circular feedstock supply beyond traditional bottle formats.
Improvements in system efficiency are evident as reclamation output ratios increased to 85.2%, boosted by greater recovery of nontraditional feedstocks and chemical recycling, although market demand for some recycled PET materials remains inconsistent.
3. Aduro, Ecoce Collaborate to Advance Flexible Plastic Packaging in Mexico
Source: Recycling Today
Aduro Clean Technologies and Mexican nonprofit ECOCE have entered a multiyear collaboration to evaluate Aduro's Hydrochemolytic technology (HCT) as a chemical recycling solution for flexible and mixed plastic packaging in Mexico.
The partnership will focus on processing postconsumer flexible plastic packaging, which is a challenging and fast-growing segment in Mexico's waste stream, often incompatible with existing mechanical recycling systems and mostly ending in landfill or incineration.
Through testing from laboratory to pilot scale, the collaboration aims to assess HCT's processability, yields, product quality, and potential to convert mixed plastics into liquid hydrocarbons usable as petrochemical feedstocks, enhancing circularity for flexible packaging materials.