U.S. Scrap Plastic Exports Collapsed 47%

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): The federal trade statistics published last week indicates notable decline in scrap plastic shipments by the U.S. during the initial six-month period of the current year. The export volumes plunged by nearly 47% in the first half of 2019 to total 773 million pounds. This compares with the exports of nearly 1.5 billion pounds during the corresponding half-yearly period in 2018.

The sharp decline in scrap plastic shipments from the U.S. is mainly attributed to Chinese ban on imports. In addition, the recent import restrictions by several Southeast Asian countries to stem increased import volumes on account of Chinese ban, also put breaks on volume of scrap plastic shipments by the U.S. The recent trends in the industry suggest that the export situation is likely to deteriorate further, as more countries impose trade restrictions to prevent themselves from becoming dumping yard for foreign waste.

The primary destination of U.S. scrap plastic exports was Canada. The country imported 163 million pounds from the U.S. followed by India with imports of 156 million. The third largest buyer of scrap plastic from the U.S. was Hong Kong, whose imports from the U.S. totaled 78 million. The other key importers were Malaysia (45 million), Mexico (42 million), South Korea (42 million), Indonesia (40 million), Taiwan (36 million), Turkey (30 million) and Thailand (26 million).