U.S. Recycled Paper Shipments Surged, OCC Exports Hit Multi-Year Highs

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): The information released by the U.S. Census Bureau suggests high export volumes for recycled paper of various grades during the month of October this year. The OCC shipments touched two-year highs during the month, whereas the mixed paper exports dropped over the year. The recycled paper exports have edged higher marginally by 4.1% from 2017 during the first ten months of the year.

The primary export destination of OCC from the U.S. was China. The U.S. exporters shipped 641,000 short tons of the material in October 2018, considerably higher from the previous month shipment. The surge in Chinese imports was mainly on account of elevated buying interest from traders ahead of reaching their license limits for the year. Incidentally, Chinese OCC imports witnessed sharp decline during late November.

The U.S. shipped 255,000 short tons of mixed paper in October this year. The exports fell sharply by 18% upon comparison with the exports of 311,000 short tons during the same month a year before. India, with receipts of 104,000 short tons of the material turned out to be the largest importer. The other key importers were Indonesia (49,000 short tons) and Canada (27,000 short tons). Until October this year, the mixed paper imports reported 24% decline over the previous year.

The exports of recycled paper pulp totaled 35,000 short tons in Jan-Oct ’18. Out of this, China accounted for 10,000 short tons.

This story originally appeared in www.resource-recycling.com