Recent figures from the American Forest and Paper Association highlight the differing direction of the domestic and offshore markets for recovered fiber. While domestic mills continue to struggle with soft demand, the offshore market continues to surge, helping keep prices for many grades of recovered fiber at steady levels.
According to the AFPA, the consumption of recovered fiber for May stand at 2.904 million tons, a decline from last May’s consumption figure of 3.019 million tons. The total for the month pushed the five-month total to 13.981 million tons, a 3.2 percent drop from figures the same time last year.
While the domestic market continues to take capacity off line, offshore orders are climbing sharply. For April, the most recently reported month, exports stand at 1.137 million tons, close to a 28 percent increase from figures the same time last year.
The strength in offshore orders continues unabated, with movement to many of the end markets climbing. Canada, until only recently the largest importer of U.S. paper stock, posted a 15.6 percent increase in recovered fiber from the United States. China continues to play the most active role in shipments of recovered fiber.
China is expected to continue purchasing large blocks of material as new capacity comes on line.
While domestic paper stock use continues to slump, the inventory of recovered fiber has been climbing higher. Despite a shortage of orders for finished products, many mills are having to buy more material as they face increased competition from buyers outside North America.
The recent AFPA figures show that inventory levels of recovered fiber at the end of May stand at 1.050 million tons, a 19 percent increase from inventory levels the same time last year. Further, the increase for May is up close to 1 percent from figures during April.