Author: Paul Ploumis03 Jun 2015 Last updated at 02:30:08 GMT

SPOKANE (Scrap Monster): The scrap export volumes of many materials by the US remained sluggish during the initial three-month period in 2015 when matched with the previous year. Scrap plastic exports managed to rebound during Mar ’15. But, ferrous, recovered paper and aluminum scrap exports continued to decline during the first quarter of 2015.

The latest scrap export data released for the month of Mar ‘15 indicates that scrap plastics export volumes surged higher by almost 36.8% when compared with the previous month. The exports totaled 416.78 million pounds during the month. The exports were up by 5.0% when compared with the 396.93 million pounds exported during Mar ‘14.

On the other hand, the cumulative scrap plastics exports during the initial three months in 2015 registered decline over the previous year. The exports during January to March this year totaled 997.84 million pounds, 9.4% lower when compared with the first quarter in 2014.

The weighted price of scrap plastic exports in Mar ‘15 stood at 18.24 cents per pound, marginally down by 0.4% from the Feb ‘15 levels. The weighted price was down 7.3% when compared with Mar ‘14.

Recovered paper exports reported decline of 6.2% to 4.57 million metric tons during the first quarter of 2015. Also, the weighted average price during the quarter was down by 8.7% year-on-year at $160 per metric ton.

Ferrous scrap exports declined sharply by 17.1% during the initial three-month period in 2015 to 3.26 million metric tons. The weighted average price during the year was slightly down by 5.0% at $334 per metric ton.

Also, aluminum scrap exports during January to March this year dropped significantly by 18.3% to 725.4 million pounds. The weighted average price too dropped 4.6% to 74 cents per pound.