Export watch

Export watch

By Editorial Staff, Resource Recycling

The volume of plastic scrap exported in April, at 372.86 million pounds, was down 8.1 percent from its March figure. When matched against its April 2011 position, the volume of exports was down, as well, by 3.4 percent.

The weighted price of recovered plastic exports in April, at 21.92 cents per pound, dipped slightly to 0.3 percent from its March standing. When compared to its year-over-year (YOY) level the price was up, however, by 3.9 percent.

Through April, at 1.50 billion pounds, the volume of recovered plastics exported was up 1.8 percent from its 2011 year-to-date (YTD) figure. However, at 21.67 cents per pound, the average price through April was down slightly 0.6 percent from its 2011 YTD standing.

As for other exported materials, recovered paper exports, through April, experienced a 2.2 percent YOY decrease, to 6.86 million metric tons. At $174 per metric ton, the weighted average price of exported recovered paper in April was down 2.8 percent when compared to its April 2011 mark.

Regarding ferrous scrap, the 7.33 million metric tons exported through April resulted in a slight 0.6 percent YOY increase. At $463 per metric ton the weighted average price of exported ferrous scrap was even.

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