Recovered paper prices have been doubling due to slower generation of recovered fiber materials and increased demand from paper mills worldwide, Recycling Today reports.
Prices for all grades of recovered paper have surged up in response to short supplies caused in part by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Old corrugated containers (OCC) pricing was at all-time lows for most of 2019, averaging around $25 per ton for the latter half of that year. The U.S. average price for OCC was at $24 per ton in the January buying period. Since January, OCC prices have jumped about 196 percent nationally, Fastmarkets RISI reports in an RCP Special Report Story it emailed to subscribers April 16.
Other recovered fiber grades also have benefitted from stronger pricing. “The run-up on the price in the last 48 hours has been unbelievable,” says a paper shredder based in the Upper Midwest as of the second week of April, as quoted by Recyling Today.
