US Exports of Plastic Waste and Scrap Witnessed 9% Decline

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): The US exports of Plastic waste and scrap declined marginally during the initial nine months of the current year. This is in accordance with the latest trade data published by the US Census Bureau. Also, the data suggests marginal decline in imports of plastic waste and scrap during the above mentioned period.

According to the latest trade data published by the US Census Bureau data, the exports of plastic waste and scrap saw 9% decline through September this year. The exports during this period totaled $501.84 million. The exports had totaled $550.6 million during Jan-Sep ’16. It must be noted that US plastic waste and scrap exports were valued at $733.76 million during the entire year 2016.

The largest export destination was China. The country accounted for nearly 35% of all exports of plastic waste and scrap by the US during Jan-Sep ’17. The Chinese imports from the US dropped sharply by over 18% to total $174.5 million. The second largest foreign market was Hong Kong. The exports to that country amounted to $111.2 million, dropping significantly by nearly 28% over the previous year. In third place was Canada with a total market share of 10.36%. The exports to Canada too declined by 11% to $51.98 million during this period. The other primary export destinations were India ($48 million) and Vietnam ($24.3 million).

The combined shipments to the above top five export markets totaled $410.04 million, accounting for 82% of all exports of plastic waste and scrap by the US during Jan-Sep ‘17.

Los Angeles Customs District accounted for over 31% of all US exports, followed by New York City, Charleston, Houston and Seattle. Nearly 63% of all shipments were from these five Customs Districts.

Meantime, US imports of plastic waste and scrap too witnessed marginal 1% decline. The imports during the opening nine months of 2017 totaled $160.63 million as compared with $163 million during the corresponding nine-month period in 2016. The US imports during the full year 2016 had totaled $212.57 million.

Mexico was the top exporter, accounting for 38.5% share of all US imports. The imports from Mexico have dropped by nearly 9% over the previous year to total $61.8 million during Jan-Sep ’17. The other key supplier countries were Canada ($39.8 million), Honduras ($7.8 million), China ($7.7 million) and Ecuador ($5.3 million). The districts to ship largest volume were Laredo, Detroit, Charleston, Miami and Buffalo. Nearly 50% of all plastic waste and scrap shipped out of the US were from these top five Customs Districts.