U.S. Plastic Scrap Exports Plunged 40% Amidst Chinese Curbs

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): The opening two months of 2018 saw huge decline in plastic scrap shipments out of the U.S. The latest trade statistics published by the U.S. Census Bureau and International Trade Commission states that other destinations failed to offset the significant drop in shipments to China.

The U.S. plastic scrap exports totaled 200,424 tonnes during Jan-Feb ’18. This is almost 40% lower when compared with the exports during the corresponding two-month period in 2017. The U.S. exports were badly impacted by recently imposed import restrictions by the Chinese administration. The exports to China dwindled to just 10,476 tonnes during the first two months of 2018. It must be noted that China had imported 150,630 tonnes of plastic scrap materials from the U.S. during Jan-Feb ’17.

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The largest export market for U.S. plastic scrap in the opening two months of 2018 was Malaysia. The exports to Malaysia surged higher significantly by 728.7% over the previous year to total 45,500 tonnes. The exports to Vietnam totaled 25,527 tonnes, rising considerably by 129.3% over the two-month period in 2017. Meantime, Thailand’s imports skyrocketed by more than 2,900% to total 22,467 tonnes.

The Chinese National Sword Campaign has led to sharp decline in scrap plastic exports from Los Angeles port district- the largest U.S. exporter of scrap plastics. An analysis of U.S. Census Bureau data suggests that exports from the port fell by more than 50% in January 2018 alone. The total tonnage of plastic scrap that left the port dropped from 67,130 short tons in Jan ’17 to 30,150 short tons in January this year. The share of exports to China dropped from 52% to 7% over the previous year. Although, the receipts by other countries reported notable jumps, they weren’t enough to fully absorb the materials that would have otherwise gone to China.

Also, the U.S. recovered fiber exports to China recorded 95.2% year-on-year decline to 18,432 tonnes in the opening two months of 2018.