Lockdowns Take a Hit on Recovered Fiber and Plastic Exports

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster):  Several countries across the world have declared extended lockdown periods in their fight against spread of COVID-19 pandemic. This, coupled with shipping disruptions and reduced demand has impacted flow of recovered fiber and plastics out of the U.S.

According to reports, several countries in South and Southeast Asia have declared quarantine measures, thereby leading to shutdown of industries. Incidentally, many of these countries have long been serving as primary export market destinations for recovered materials.

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Many Chinese factories were forced to shut down, following the outbreak of the virus. The buyers in Malaysia seem to be cautious on buying new material on fears that the ports may be ordered to stop operations next week. The regional regulations in parts of South Korea, Thailand, Taiwan and Vietnam have led to market disruptions.

The situation in India is more critical as the 21-day national lockdown by the government has almost paralyzed the entire scrap trading activity. Although the government order allows ports to remain open for imports of critical goods, the recovered fiber and plastic imports continue to remain impacted, as they are classified under “non-essential” category. It must be noted that the country has been one of the top importers of U.S. recovered fiber and recovered plastic over the past several years.