US recovered paper exports up 25.8%

U.S. recovered paper exports in the first quarter of this year totaled 5.233 million metric tons, up 25.8 percent from a year earlier, Tootoo.com has learned from the U.S. Dept. of Commerce (DOC). These numbers have caused confusion within the paper recycling industry because for months now shipping containers for recovered paper have been in short supply. China’s orders continue to be robust. In March recovered paper exports to this country were up year over year by 18.1 percent, to 940,702 metric tons, bringing the year-to-date total to 3.332 million metric tons, up 34.3 percent from a year ago. For the first quarter of this year China represented 63.7 percent of the total market for U.S. recovered paper exports, up from 59.7 percent a year ago. Among the top five markets for U.S. recovered paper, the only one down through the first quarter is Canada, but only by 3.8 percent, to 476,754 metric tons. Turning to old corrugated containers (OCC), U.S. exports of OCC posted an 18 percent year-over-year increase in the first three months of this year and totaled 1.445 million metric tons, reports the DOC. China remains the number one consumer with 737,049 metric tons received from the U.S., up 15.3 percent, or nearly 98,000 metric tons, from first quarter 2007. India remains in second place, with a 30 percent increase in shipments, to 140,261 metric tons.