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Key takeaways:
Prices for US brown bulk grades were firm this week after a dip in July as demand from mills in Southeast Asia and India met reduced supplies, steadying prices for old corrugated containers (OCC) and new double-lined kraft corrugated cuttings (DLK) in August.
Improved demand for mixed paper increased prices by $3 per short ton FAS, raising prices out of the New York/New Jersey ports to $85-88 per short ton FAS, and to $80-83 per short ton FAS out of the Los Angeles/Long Beach ports.
No56 sorted residential papers and news (SRPN), too, added $3 per short ton to August orders, and prices increased to $95-98 per short ton FAS out of the New York/New Jersey ports, and to $88-91 per short ton FAS out of the Los Angeles/Long Beach ports.
High deinking grades prices, too, were steady in August for sorted office paper (SOP) and sorted white ledger (SWL) grades.
“India is buying. Southeast Asia/China is buying,” a seller source said of US OCC tons in August. “It’s still moving, still selling, but not at a lucrative price.”
While sources this week reported “subdued” demand for export US bulk grade tons, a recent report shows that demand for OCC is expected to rebound in the fourth quarter.
Fastmarkets’ recent World Recovered Paper Monitor reported that recovered fiber demand, while facing challenges including paper packaging capacity shuts in North America and overcapacity in Europe and Asia, the seasonal supply tightness “should help stabilize global markets.” The report noted that “near-term risks remain elevated, primarily due to unresolved trade policy tensions.”
Fastmarkets’ research team in the report said: “We anticipate a modest recovery in the fourth quarter when demand for recycled fiber from the paper packaging sector rebounds further.”
The World Recovered Paper Monitor said weaker consumer spending also is at play, pointing to the trade tensions between the US and China and tariffs.
“While China’s export growth improved from 4.8% in May to 5.8% in June, with the decline in shipments to US narrowing from 34.6% to 16.0%, domestic retail sales growth slowed from 6.4% in May to 4.8% in June, underscoring broader demand softness,” the report highlighted.
Export demand for US tons decreased in July as mill buyers in Southeast Asia reduced orders and prices last month. In August, sources said prices were steady with demand.
Export pricing for No11 OCC and No12 double-sorted old corrugated containers (DSOCC) were unchanged in August, keeping prices for No11 OCC at $132-135 per short ton FAS out of the New York/New Jersey ports, and at $130-133 per short ton FAS out of the Los Angeles/Long Beach ports. No12 DSOCC held at $142-145 per short ton FAS out of the New York/New Jersey ports, and at $140-143 per short ton out of the Los Angeles/Long Beach ports.
Export SOP prices were flat month on month at $222-225 per short ton FAS out of the New York/New Jersey ports, and stayed at $212-215 per short ton FAS out of the Los Angeles/Long Beach ports. Some sellers reported increased prices for SOP, yet the majority reported unchanged prices for August orders.
Buyers and sellers told Fastmarkets this week that they are still seeing blank sailings and vessel skips at US ports, and some rate decreases on the waters.
“Shipping seems to have stabilized after a brief uptick,” a seller source said on Monday August 4. “Rates are gradually coming down just slightly as some lines reshuffle and move capacities into their US trades.”
The Port of Long Beach said a pause in tariffs in recent months helped the West Coast port to see its most-active July on record, and the third-busiest month in its 114-year history. Dockworkers and terminal operators processed 944,232 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) in July, a rise of 7% from the previous record set in July 2024.
Imports increased by 7.6% to 468,081 TEUs and exports declined by 12.9% to 91,328 TEUs. Empty containers moving through the Port of Long Beach increased by 12.3% to 384,824 TEUs.
“Retailers are now seeing the arrival of goods that were purchased for lower costs during the temporary pause placed on tariffs and retaliatory tariffs earlier this year,” Port of Long Beach chief executive officer Mario Cordero said.
The port has moved 5,690,863 TEUs in the first seven months of 2025, a 10% rise from the same period in 2024.
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