Export watch

By Editorial Staff, Resource Recycling

The volume of plastic scrap exported in March, at 405.31 million pounds, was up 8.9 percent from its February figure. When matched against its March 2011 position, the volume of exports rose slightly by 2.2 percent.

The weighted price of recovered plastic exports in March, at 21.98 cents per pound, jumped 11.6 percent from its February standing. When compared to its year-over-year (YOY) standing, however, the price was down by 0.6 percent.

Through March, at 1.13 billion pounds, the volume of recovered plastics exported was up 3.7 percent from its 2011 year-to-date (YTD) figure. However, at 21.59 cents per pound, the average price through March was down 1.7 percent from its 2011 YTD standing.

As for other exported materials, recovered paper exports, through March, experienced a 2.9 percent YOY increase to 5.26 million metric tons. At $172 per metric ton, the weighted average price of exported recovered paper in March was down 3.9 percent when compared to its March 2011 mark.

Regarding ferrous scrap, the 5.43 million metric tons exported through March resulted in an 8.1 percent YOY increase. At $462 per metric ton the weighted average price of exported ferrous scrap was down slightly to 0.9 percent.

Lastly, the 1.16 billion pounds of aluminum scrap exported through March equated to a 4.3 percent YOY increase. And, at 78 cents per pound, the average price of exported aluminum scrap through March was down 10.3 percent when compared to its March 2011 standing.

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