The US exported a total of 1.7 million tons of recycle polymers in 2017. Imports into the US of recycle polymers were 429,000 tons, up 2%. Continue reading
Tag Archives: United States Polymer Trade Report
US Imported Record Volumes of Fabricated Plastic Products in 2017
Imports of fabricated plastic products that can be specifically identified by polymer were 3.5 million tons in 2017, up 17%. (Much larger volumes of fabricated products are imported as mixtures of polymers.) Imports were at record high levels for most of the year, including through the fourth quarter.
US Exports of Ethylene Polymers were down 2% in 2017
Shipments totaled 5.3 million tons for the year, with volumes at record high levels early in the year, a slowdown from May through November, then a surge in December.
Rise in US Imports of R-PE and R-PET
As US exports of recycle polyethylene and PET dropped to record low levels in October, 2017, US imports jumped, mainly on higher volumes from Canada and Mexico.
Sharply Lower US Exports of Recycle Polymers in July
United States exports of recycle polyethylene, polypropylene, PET and PVC all plummeted in July 2017.
Surge in US Exports of Polyethylene and Polypropylene
The new year started off strong for US exports of polyolefins, with heavy shipments in January 2017 of HDPE, LLDPE, LDPE, polypropylene homopolymer and propylene copolymers. Continue reading
US Exports of Polyethylene to Africa
The United States reported exports in 2016 to Africa of 30,000 tons of LDPE/LLDPE, down 14%, and 145,000 tons of HDPE, up 98%.
US Exports of Polyethylene to Asia-Pacific
The United States reported exports of LDPE/LLDPE in 2016 to Asia-Pacific of 300,000 tons, up 11%, and 260,000 tons of HDPE, up 9%.
US Exports of Polyethylene to Latin America
The United States reported exports of LDPE/LLDPE in 2016 to Latin America of 850,000 tons, down 11%, and 1.36 million tons of HDPE, up 8%.
Recent Changes in US Polyethylene Trade Flows
With construction continuing on massive new polyethylene capacity, US imports trended up to a new record high in the second half of the year, as US exports plummeted.