AMERICA CHUNG NAMThe dominant containerized exporter for the last decade, this California-based wastepaper company is the primary supplier to sister company Nine Dragons Paper Industries, China’s largest containerboard manufacturer. Its 414,500 TEUs in 2012 exports were more than double the No. 2 exporter on the list.

KOCH INDUSTRIESThis private U.S. company owns Georgia-Pacific, one of the world’s largest producers of pulp, paper, packaging and building products, along with polymer and fiber company Invista and refiner and chemicals manufacturer Flint Hills Resources. Its latest acquisition, a $1.45 billion deal for specialty fibers company Buckeye Technologies, is expected to close later this year.

INTERNATIONAL PAPERThe Memphis-based company, which has operations in North America, Europe, Latin America, Russia, Asia and northern Africa, exported more than 150,000 TEUs of paper and packaging products from the U.S. last year. Its brands include Hammermill, one of largest printer paper products on the market. A new agreement with U.K.-based Warren Board Sales will increase IP’s distribution of cartonboard products in Europe.

SIMS METAL MANAGEMENTThe largest scrap metal company on the list, Sims exported more than 106,000 TEUs in 2012 from its 120 North American facilities. After divesting Colorado, Arizona and Nashville, Tenn., operations in 2012, Sims reportedly is doing the same with two scrap facilities in Alabama and Mississippi and is negotiating the sale of its aerospace division. A new greenfield facility in Rhode Island is scheduled for completion in September.

DOW CHEMICALThe nation’s largest chemicals and plastics producer, Dow owns Rohm & Haas and had 2012 revenue of $57 billion. Its diversified portfolio also includes advanced materials and agrosciences businesses. Two new Texas plants, one for propylene and the other for ethylene, are scheduled to open in 2017. For the past five years, Dow has been cooperating with Union Pacific Railroad to improve rail safety and security in the shipment of chemicals.

WEYERHAEUSERThe lumber and wood products company, which owns 6 million acres of timberland in the U.S., converted to a real estate investment trust in 2010 and sold its hardwood operations and its Westwood Shipping Lines division a year later. With its acquisition of 645,000 acres in the Pacific Northwest in June, Weyerhaeuser became the nation’s largest timber REIT. It also named a new CEO, Doyle Simons, to take over for the retiring Dan Fulton in October, and said it is considering divesting its homebuilding business.

DENISON INTERNATIONALBased in Southern California, Denison exported more than 96,000 TEUs of paper recyclables, primarily to China through the ports of Los Angeles, Long Beach and New York-New Jersey.

NEWPORT CH INTERNATIONALFormed in 2003, the Orange, Calif.-based company, in partnership with Canusa Hershman Recycling, exports wastepaper, steel scrap and plastics to Asia, primarily China, and Europe. With offices in London and Amsterdam, Newport also exports from Europe to Asia. Its Shanghai office works directly with Chinese mills to fulfill orders.

DUPONTWith a diversified portfolio that includes agricultural, nutritional, electronics, apparel, and home/construction products, DuPont operates in more than 90 countries, had 2012 revenue of $34.8 billion and exported more than 95,000 TEUs in goods. It acquired soy-based ingredients company Solae in 2012 and food ingredients company Danisco a year earlier. In February, it sold its Performance Coatings division to Carlyle Group. It will break ground on a new Iowa research facility this fall and is investing $200 million in a new ethanol plant, also in Iowa.

SHINTECHThe Houston-based subsidiary of Japan’s Shin-Etsu Chemical is the United States’ largest producer of polyvinyl chloride for use primarily in piping for the construction industry. In June, it announced a $500 million expansion of its Louisiana plants that will add almost 700 million pounds of PVC capacity by 2015.

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