The typical slowdown associated with generation of post-industrial material is more pronounced heading into the summer, as manufacturing within the United States continues to lag. According to a reprocessor based in the Midwest, his company has had to expand its supplier base to keep an acceptable volume of material flowing into the facility.
The reprocessor says he has seen a steady decline in manufacturing since December of 2007, noting a 10 to 15 percent decrease in terms of volume of material generated.
"We can sell whatever we get," he says. "That is not the issue. If our primary customer can’t use it, we can find a secondary one. It’s a matter of finding the material."
Tight supply is causing pricing for some grades to increase.
"Polypropylene (PP) is very strong right now," he says, noting that natural PP regrind is selling in the range of 50 to 60 cents per pound, an increase of nearly 10 cents from the end of the first quarter of the year. The reprocessor adds that commodity grade material is making more gains than engineering grades.
(Additional news about plastics recycling markets is available online at www.RecyclingToday.com.)
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