Beverages & polymers

Global market - The combined forces of the economic downturn and environmental pressures are causing a sharp slowdown in the global bottled water market, according to a recent analysis by Canadean. The situation is most marked in the US, where an annual growth under 1% for the next five years has been forecasted. This is a significant deceleration from the double-digit rates seen from 2000 to 2008. In the decade up to 2008, the US bottled water market accounted for 20% of the growth in global PET demand in beverages. This growth driver has been switched off, and the momentum in bottled water demand is now firmly focused in the dynamic Asian markets. High profile tap water campaigns across many US states, and bottled water bans by public institutions have resulted in consumers reverting to tap and filtered water. This is being mirrored in some major European markets such as France and the UK, with the economic conditions reinforcing this trend.