Plastics Imports by the US Surged 5% Through November

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): The most recent trade statistics published by the US Census Bureau suggests 5% jump in imports of plastics by the country during the opening eleven months of 2017. Also, the US exports of plastics grew marginally by 1% during this period.

According to data, the US imported $3.99 billion worth plastics during Jan-Nov ’17, which is higher by 5% over the previous year. The imports during the corresponding eleven-month period in 2016 had totaled only $3.82 billion. Among 1,265 commodities imported by the country, plastics were ranked No 101. Going by the current trend, the full year imports in 2017 are likely to surpass the yearly imports of $4.15 billion in 2016.

The leading exporter of plastics to the US during Jan-Nov ’17 was Canada. Over 82% of the imported plastics by the US came from Canada. The Canadian exports to the US declined marginally over the previous year by almost 2%. The imported volume from Canada totaled $3.28 billion.

The second largest supplier was Mexico. The country’s plastics shipments to the US skyrocketed by 220% to total $127.3 million during this period. In third place was Germany with supplies of $97 million. The other leading suppliers were South Korea ($66.8 million) and Japan ($66.2 million). The shipments by the above top five exporting countries totaled $3.63 billion out of the $3.99 billion, accounting for nearly 91% of total imports by the US during the eleven-month period.

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The exports of plastics increased marginally by 1% to total $6.99 billion during Jan-Nov ’17. The imports had totaled only $6.90 billion during the corresponding eleven-month period in 2016.

The single largest importer of US plastics was Mexico. The exports to Mexico were valued at $1.54 billion during Jan-Nov ’17, accounting for nearly 22% of all shipments by the US during this period. The second largest foreign market for US plastics was Canada. The Canadian imports of US plastics totaled $1.30 billion, rising sharply by nearly 15% over the previous year. In third place was China with a total market share of approximately 11%. The other key export destinations were Brazil ($482.9 million) and Belgium ($428.8 million).

Almost 65% of all plastics exported by the US during the first eleven months of 2017 was to the above five countries. The combined exports to the top five foreign markets totaled $4.52 billion out of the total $6.99 billion.