From The Paper Stock Report:
March 25, 2011
By Ken McEntee
Coming of a record year,
U.S. recovered paper exports started 2012 with the highest ever January
shipments and the second highest January pricing, based on import data
from the U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census.
According
to Census data, the U.S. shipped just short of 2 million tons of
recovered paper out of the country in January, valued at more than $318
million – a mean FAS price of $153.38 per ton for all grades combined.
The
record January volume topped the 1.9 million tons exported in January
2011 by 4.5 percent. The average price was 5.4 percent below the January
record average of $162.09 set in January 2011. The record volume was
driven by a 26 percent year-over-year increase in exports of old
newspaper (ONP). Exports of chemical deinking grades were up 15 percent
and shipments of old corrugated containers (OCC) were up 12 percent.
Meanwhile, exports of groundwood other than ONP were down 18 percent,
exports of pulp substitutes were down almost 8 percent and exports of
mixed paper were down 1.5 percent.
But prices were down for all
grades except “other” groundwood. Along with the boom in volume, ONP
prices in January were down 19 percent compared to January 2011, to an
average of $135.86 per ton – a drop of about $33 per ton.
The
solid month marked a slight decline compared to December, both in volume
and price. Shipments in January were down 3 percent compared to
December, while the average price was down slightly less than 1 percent.
Commerce
trade data indicates FAS value, including the value of recovered paper
to the dock and transportation to the dock, but not including costs of
loading and handling at the port, nor ocean freight.
