U.S. Exports of Paper and Paperboard Scrap Dropped 7% Through February

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): The most recent data published by the U.S. Census Bureau indicates sharp fall in exports of paper and paperboard scrap during the initial two-month period in 2018. The imports during this period too recorded decline.

The exports of paper and paperboard scrap by the U.S. totaled $488.43 million during Jan-Feb ’18. This is considerably lower by nearly 7% when matched with the exports of $526.41 million recorded during the corresponding two-month period in 2017. It must be noted that the yearly exports had increased marginally by 1% in 2017 to total $3.18 billion.

Through February, the top five markets for U.S exports were China, India, Mexico, Canada and South Korea. These top five foreign markets received nearly 84% of all paper and paperboard scrap exports by the U.S. during Jan-Feb ’18.

Despite import restrictions, China continued to be the top export market. The exports to China totaled $204.28 million, accounting for almost 42% of all U.S. shipments. However, the exports tumbled by almost 40% over the previous year. India received $97.53 million worth of paper and paperboard scrap, recording year-on-year growth of over 132%. The other major importers were Mexico ($53.65 million), Canada ($26.7 million) and South Korea ($26.22 million).

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The U.S. imports of paper and paperboard scrap declined 5% through the first two months of 2018. The imports were down from $23.6 million in the opening two months of 2017 to $22.38 million in Jan-Feb ’18.

The primary source of import was Canada. The other key exporters were Mexico, China, Germany and Italy in that order. The imports from these top five market destinations totaled $19.99 million, representing over 99% share of all imports by the U.S.

Nearly 96% of US paper and paperboard scrap imports during the two-month period were from Canada. The imports from that country through February have dropped by 3.3% over the previous year to total $21.5 million. Mexico emerged as the second largest exporter. However, the U.S imports from Mexico declined drastically to $839,273. In third place was China with exports of $29,214, followed by Germany ($9,576) and Italy ($2,463).