Plastics

PLASTICS MARKETS HOLD STEADY

Markets for secondary plastics appear to be moving steadily along, according to industry sources, who claim stable pricing and consistent demand.

A reclaimer based in the Gulf says, "Markets have been average. We haven’t seen crazy demand or supply." He adds, "Everything is going smoothly. The buyers have just about what they need."

He continues, "It’s a good market for established companies. It makes it difficult for new guys to go in and beat us on pricing."

A reclaimer based in the Southeast echoes his view. "Everything seems like it’s holding steady," she says, indicating that the markets have been stable since mid-February. She says the markets began the new year at a reluctant pace, but adds that activity has picked up since then.

However, the reclaimer says that markets appear to be lagging behind compared to this time last year, but that it is not cause for concern. "We sell a lot into the automotive and housing markets, and those markets have been a little slow." She says she expects construction activity to pick up in the spring, however, as companies who make PVC piping see an increase in business.

Generation has also been slower in the Southeast, according to the Southeast reclaimer, though she again says there is no cause for panic, as markets should pick up in the spring.

Generation in the Midwest has slowed down somewhat compared to the last quarter of 2006, though a reclaimer in that region says he expects things to slow down considerably in the summer. "June is usually terrible," he says.

He has also noticed that demand and pricing for PVC is down and attributes that to the decline in the housing market. "It’s more difficult than it typically is to get rid of that." He adds that rigid PVC colors are especially hard to move. "Even whites are not flying out of here."

In general, the Midwest reclaimer says, markets have slowed down a bit from the last quarter of 2006, which he describes as "great." He adds, "We had a better than normal February, but March is a titch slow."

The Midwest reclaimer says the biggest problem facing secondary plastics markets currently is the new tariffs and duties that the Chinese government has enacted. He says that, as a result, pricing to China has increased by a penny or a penny and a half, which the buyers are trying to pass on to their suppliers.

(Additional news about plastics recycling markets is available online at www.RecyclingToday.com.)

Petoskey Plastics, Petoskey, Mich., has been assessed and registered as conforming to the requirements of the ISO 9001:2000 quality management system (QMS) standards.

The Quality Management System (QMS) designation is applicable to the company’s design and manufacture of engineered plastic film and bags using new and recycled materials.

"The ISO 9000:2001 registration is a further evolution of our quality management system," says Jim Eklund, Petoskey Plastics vice president of operations. "We are now focused on the interaction of processes with better measurement, communications and continual improvement. The end result of our entire effort is improved customer satisfaction."

According to a company news release, Petoskey’s new QMS has four areas of focus: interaction within its diverse processes, customer satisfaction, continual improvement and measurement, and communication of its performance.

Intertek Testing Services NA Inc. was the third-party certification firm that completed the ISO 9000:2001 assessment and registration for Petoskey Plastics.