Attached is your PO for deliveries of recyclables during December2020.

The overall market for recyclables made moderate improvements again this month. These improvements are due to pricing increases in fiber, metals, and a few plastic grades.

There were modest improvements in domestic fiber pricing, due to continued strength of the packaging market. The domestic containerboard sector is running all out in preparations for heavy Holiday shipping. The anticipated collapse in U.S. recovered paper pricing as China slows its imports at yearend has still not occurred. Mill buyers in India and Southeast Asian countries have bought some of the market slack created by China’s halt to imported recycled fiber.

In comparison to domestic fiber pricing, overseas paper mills prices rose even more. However, freight costs rose again and cut into the benefits of those price increases.  As mentioned last month, ships and equipment exporting recyclables take too long to turnaround and still meet the high demand for Holiday products from China to the U.S. As a result, some shipping lines choose to return containers to China empty versus tying up equipment with U.S. recyclables. This practice is causing export bookings to be very unreliable. We simply cannot ship as much export material to take advantage of the higher prices paid by overseas paper mills. The net result is that, today, the U.S. is exporting less recycled fiber than the same time last year.

Some plastics and metals helped improve recyclable values. The demand for post-consumer plastics was again strong due to consumer use of plastic bottles. High-density polyethylene natural (HDPE-N), aluminum cans (used beverage can—UBC),and other metal pricing increased in December.

During these challenging times, we will be constantly watching these developments and will always strive to obtain the best pricing available. 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.

Merry Christmas!

President, Pioneer Recycling Services

 

P.S. – Please note our Holiday schedule below.

Christmas Eve – we will close for deliveries at 5 PM.

Christmas Day – closed.  We will be open for deliveries the following Saturday, DEC 26th.

New Year’s Eve – we will close for deliveries at 5 PM.

New Year’s Day – closed.  We will be open for deliveries the following Saturday, JAN 2nd.