U.S Paper and Paperboard Scrap Exports Take a Hit

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): The recent statistics published by the U.S. Census Bureau suggests modest decline in exports of paper and paperboard scrap by the country during the first five months of 2018. The exports dropped nearly 6%. Meantime, the imports recorded sharper decline of almost 14%, when compared with the previous year.

The exports totaled $1.27 billion, registering 5.73% decline from the previous year. The exports had totaled $1.34 billion during the corresponding five-month period in 2017. Through May, the category was ranked 108 among the roughly 1,265 export commodity groupings as classified by the Census Bureau.

China continued to remain as the top export destination despite 37% year-on-year decline in export volumes. The exports to China totaled $513 million. The other key importers of U.S. paper and paperboard scrap were India (242.3 million), Mexico ($149.81 million), Canada ($69.9 million) and South Korea ($67.16 million). More than 82% of all exports by the U.S were to the above five countries. The combined imports by the top five foreign markets totaled $1.04 billion out of the total $1.27 billion.

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The U.S. paper and paperboard scrap imports totaled $56.31 million in Jan-May ’18. The imports recorded 13.65% decline from the previous year. The country had imported paper and paperboard scrap worth $65.22 million during the initial five-month period in 2017. Incidentally, the imports during the full year 2017 had totaled $152.32 million.

Through May this year, Canada was the leading source of import. The imports from Canada totaled $54.07 million, accounting for more than 96% of the total U.S imports of paper and paperboard scrap. The imports from that country have declined by 12% over the previous year. The other primary suppliers during Jan-May ’18 were Mexico ($2.09 million), China ($112,534), Germany ($22,788) and Spain ($9,739).