Numbers on exported scrap totals continue to show 2016 lagging 2015 in terms of volume and value.
With 3.54 billion pounds of scrap plastics exported through the first 10 months of 2016, the year-to-date (YTD) volume was down 8.1 percent from the YTD figure this time last year. At 17.22 cents per pound, the average weighted price for exported scrap plastics through October 2016 was down by 5.1 percent from its 2015 YTD standing.
In October 2016, the most recent month for which figures are available, scrap plastics exports totaled 365.65 million pounds, a boost of 3.1 percent from September 2016 export levels.
However, when matched against October 2015 monthly levels, the volume of plastic scrap exports in the month was down by 1.9 percent.
The weighted price of recovered plastic exports was 17.20 cents per pound, representing a gain of 4.5 percent from its September 2016 standing. Compared with the price level from October 2015, the number was down 1.8 percent.
As for other exported materials, recovered paper exports were essentially flat through the first 10 months of 2016. Through October, 16.42 million metric tons of paper were exported, a 0.1 percent decrease from October 2015 YTD levels. At $157 per metric ton, the weighted average price of exported recovered paper through October was the same as it was this time last year.
The 10.31 million metric tons of ferrous scrap exported through October 2016 amounted to a 5.4 percent YTD decrease. At $278 per metric ton, the weighted average price of exported ferrous scrap was down 14.7 percent from October 2015 YTD levels.
Finally, the 2.49 billion pounds of aluminum scrap exported in 2016 through October equated to a 14.1 percent decrease compared with the October 2015 YTD figure. At 63 cents per pound, the average price of exported aluminum scrap through October 2016 was down by 13.6 percent compared with last year’s total through the first 10 months.
