Resource Recycling Magazine: Scrap exports show declines for most materials

Scrap exports show declines for most materials

By Editorial Staff, Resource Recycling

July 28, 2015

While most scrap materials exports continued to be down through the first five months of 2015 over year-previous figures, exports of scrap plastics saw the third straight month-to-month increase.

May saw a month-to-month increase of 10.1 percent, with 495.12 million pounds of scrap plastics exported during the month. When matched against May 2014 levels, the volume of plastic scrap exports was also up by a robust 16.5 percent.

The weighted price of recovered plastic exports was flat in May, at 18.38 cents per pound, up just 0.1 percent from its April 2015 standing. When compared with its year-over-year (YOY) level, the price was down by 7.1 percent.

Through May, at 1.94 billion pounds, the volume of recovered plastics exported was up 1.0 percent from its 2014 year-to-date (YTD) figure. At 18.49 cents per pound, the average price through May was down, however, by 6.3 percent from its 2014 YTD standing.

As for other exported materials, recovered paper exports were flat through the first five months of 2015, with 8.24 million metric tons exported, a 1.8 percent increase from May 2014 levels. At $157 per metric ton, the weighted average price of exported recovered paper in May was down YOY, by 3.2 percent.

The 5.73 million metric tons of ferrous scrap exported through May 2015 amounted to a 9.3 percent YOY decrease. At $333 per metric ton, the weighted average price of exported ferrous scrap was down steeply by 17.2 percent from May 2014 levels.

Lastly, the 1.32 billion pounds of aluminum scrap exported through May 2015 equated to a 12.2 percent decrease from the first five months of 2014. At 75 cents per pound the average price of exported aluminum scrap through May 2015 was down, as well, by 2.1 percent YOY.

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