RISI's benchmarking data is produced and maintained by experienced pulp and paper engineers supported by a proven methodology. Cash manufacturing costs for each mill are estimated using an input-output balance approach that incorporates data drawn from publicly available sources, and supplemented by surveys and interviews where required. This bottom-up approach results in a high level of transparency that enables customers to compare mills more effectively because they have a clear understanding of the assumptions supporting the results.

The first step in RISI's benchmarking process is to determine the consumption level for each natural expense category: fiber, furnish, fuel, electricity and manning. Data sources include industry publications, capacity reports, directories, site visits, equipment suppliers and engineering studies.

Next, the unit consumption levels are multiplied by unit costs (at prevailing market rate in each mill's geographic region) to produce a cost per ton for each natural expense category. Sources for unit cost data include government reports, wage and benefit data, supplier technical information and industry publications. The data is then reviewed to compensate for production variations, for example:

Furnish: Chemical losses can occur due to machine age or product type.

Fiber: Mix can vary substantially from grade to grade and machine to machine. Factors like bleaching, washing, pulp screening, deinking and refining can affect yield.

Steam: Many processes within the mill consume steam and some produce steam as a by-product. Benchmarking methodology assumes that each unit of similar pulp produces or consumes the same amount of steam. The net is the steam required from all fuel sources.

Fuel: Boiler efficiencies may vary depending on a mill's location, as well as the type and age of the boiler.

Electricity: Electrical consumption on paper machines is dependent on grade and speed. In pulping processes, electrical consumption will vary based on the number of stages and the type of pulping equipment.

Manning: Hourly operators are allocated to each area in operation. Papermaking operators are allocated based on machine runtime, while most others are based on type of product produced on a particular machine. Maintenance, salaried and support personnel are determined based on the operator allocation.