Recovered fiber exports have continued a multi-year decline in 2024, both in the third quarter and in the first nine months of the year as a whole. Plastic exports, however, have stayed steady and even slightly increased throughout the year.
For the first nine months of the year, fiber exports totaled 9.94 million short tons, down 12% from 11.32 million short tons for that period in 2023. Scrap plastic exports totaled 705 million pounds, up slightly from 701 million pounds.
The U.S. Census Bureau recently published trade data for September, allowing for an analysis of third-quarter trade data and the first nine months of the year as a whole.
Fiber exports largely move to southeast Asia
The U.S. exported 3.37 million short tons of recovered fiber during the third quarter, down 6% compared with the same period last year.
The largest importer was India, bringing in 606,000 short tons of fiber. The other major importers were Mexico with 471,000 short tons, Malaysia with 446,000 short tons, Thailand with 416,000 short tons, Vietnam with 281,000 short tons and Canada with 211,000 short tons.
The decline in fiber exports comes as domestic containerboard demand is on the rise, generating domestic demand for OCC. In recent earnings calls, some mill operators reported hitting records in containerboard production. But the increase in containerboard production is generating ample supply of OCC, contributing to a recent drop in OCC prices after a steady increase over the last couple years.
The increase in U.S. containerboard operating rates – or utilization of production capacity – comes as experts recently forecast North American containerboard production would return faster than in Asia, where producers are burdened by substantial overcapacity.
Plastic exports see stability after years of disruption
The U.S. exported 223 million pounds of scrap plastic during the third quarter, on par with the 226 million pounds exported during the third quarter last year.
Canada was the largest importer, receiving 81 million pounds of plastic, followed by Mexico with 43 million pounds. Other major importers of U.S. material were India with 21 million pounds, Malaysia with 17 million pounds, Vietnam with 13 million pounds and Indonesia with 11 million pounds.
Plastic exports have dropped significantly in recent years, driven by import bans and restrictions in China and southeast Asia as well as a 2021 amendment adding some scrap plastic to the list of materials regulated under the Basel Convention, a global waste treaty. This year’s third-quarter exports are down 82% from 10 years ago, when the U.S. exported 1.24 billion pounds of scrap plastic.
