Off to a slow start.

The month of January finds markets for some secondary plastics slowing in light of reduced buying from Chinese interests and a glut of material.

A reprocessor based in the Midwest says that while business is not bad, markets are generally slower this time of year. "You have the Chinese New Year coming," he says. "The exporters, if they are buying, are looking for deals."

He also cites a glut of material on the market within some sectors, such as PVC and styrenics, for the slowdown, adding that one secondary styrene producer dumped nearly 4 million tons of material on the market at the end of the year. "I think a lot of that will be gobbled up in the first quarter," at which point, he says, he anticipates that the market will strengthen.

A Gulf Coast area reprocessor also finds the year off to a slow start, but adds that it is somewhat slower than it typically is this time of year. "The buyers haven't really gone out there with strength to buy volume," he says. However, he's optimistic. "I expect it to pick up pretty soon. Orders are starting to come in."

Some plastics have already seen a mild improvement. While polyethylene took a dip in the last quarter of 2006, the Midwest reprocessor says orders have been coming in at higher rates in January.

HDPE has also regained some strength after a slide in the last quarter of 2006. "HDPE dipped so quickly, so fast, I was concerned whether it was going to bounce back," the Midwest reprocessor says. Prices for the HDPE declined nearly 33 percent in one quarter, he says. Although HDPE has seen some gains recently, it's still nearly 20 percent off its earlier high in the low 40s, he says.

The reprocessor based in the Gulf Coast also says that he has seen HDPE make some pricing gains recently, but adds, "You have to have the volume to command the best numbers."

While LDPE followed HDPE in softening, according to the Midwestern reprocessor, it didn't come down as drastically.

Polycarbonate pricing, however, continues to trend downward. "I would say that it has gone down at least 15 percent in the last four months," according to the reprocessor based in the Midwest.

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