Attached is your PO for deliveries of recyclables during November 2022.
The value of recyclables recovered this month as we saw some market improvement. All grades of paper stabilized or slightly improved and a couple of other grades improved slightly, one plastic and one metal.
After three straight months of large price drops, domestic OCC pricing held. As a few domestic mills started running more, overall OCC demand increased slightly. The domestic mills with increased demand were eager to hold the price. However, some other domestic mills are full of inventory. Those full mills are taking little to no OCC and offered slightly reduced prices. Export OCC prices had previously dropped well below domestic prices. But, that trend changed this month. One Southeast Asia mill, which had not bought from the West Coast for more than a year, re-entered the market and increased prices. All other export mills followed the price increase. The export market drove up the overall value of OCC. Other domestic paper prices held, and other export paper prices either held or increase a few dollars per ton.
For the most part, plastic prices were flat. The exception was HDPE-Natural (milk cartoons), which saw a decent increase for the first time in over half a year. Over the last several months, consumer generation of milk jugs reduced 20% – 40% in the PNW. Consumers are apparently drinking less milk from Natural, one-gallon jugs. This large generation reduction has created a slight supply shortage compared to only a small drop-off in demand. So, Natural prices “naturally” improved.
The metals market is up slightly. UBC price saw a good improvement while tin dropped slightly. The UBC market price is still impacted by energy shortages in Europe. These energy shortages reduced European aluminum production and drove up demand from North American producers. The aluminum mills responded to increased demand with a price increase.
Where does pricing go from here? It is tough to know. Last month, we would have predicted that we were near the bottom of the recyclable market but expected prices to only stabilize and not to increase until well into 2023. Economists predict that the global recession will continue well into 2023. But, this month surprised us with an increase in export OCC demand and prices. It is difficult to predict whether this upward pressure in prices continues or whether it is short-lived. The recyclables market will most likely (1) stabilize again, (2) drop slightly, or (3) rise slightly. But, we do not believe it will plummet again or rise significantlyin the near term.
During these unpredictable times, we will always strive to obtain the best pricing available and to provide you with the best possible service. It is our pleasure to work with you to recycle material and to protect our environment. We appreciate you and thank you for your business.
Stay Safe! Enjoy this Holiday season.
Signature Plates
P.S. – Please note our Holiday schedule below.
Thanksgiving
Tacoma, WA – closed. We will be open for deliveries on Friday, NOV 25th, and Saturday, NOV 26th.
Clackamas, OR –open for deliveries until 2 PM. We will be open for deliveries on Friday, NOV 25th.
Christmas& New Year’s Weekend
Both Tacoma and Clackamas will be open during regular receiving hours the Friday before and Monday after these Holiday weekends: DEC 23rd, DEC 26th, DEC 30th, and JAN 2nd.