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U.S. pulp and paperboard production (seasonally unadjusted) firmed in June after tapering off during the previous four months, according to the American Forest & Paper Assn. Most of the increase reflected a large increase in printing/writing paper shipments from May to June. However, cumulative printing/writing paper shipments for the first half of 1998 lagged their year-ago volume by 1.6%.
Total paper production for June was 3.7 million tons, up 0.4% from June a year ago. Year-to-date through June, paper production was off 0.8%. Paperboard production was up 2.8% in June compared with the previous year’s month and up 2.4% for the first half of 1998.
Market pulp shipments showed a 6.9% decline June-to-June and for the six months were off 6.8%. Recovered paper consumption at U.S. mills was up 2.5% through June compared with the same period in 1997. Among the major grades, newsprint imports from Canada were down 4.6% through May, but imports as a whole rose 180%. Total North American shipments to the U.S. were 1.5% above year-ago levels January through June; export shipments declined 23% through the first six months. Linerboard production for export trended lower during the first half, falling from 414,000 tons in January to 292,000 in June.
|
 |
| Newsprint |
June |
593 |
1.7 |
7,154 |
–0.2 |
| Uncoated groundwood (s) |
June |
184 |
1.7 |
2,095 |
4.5 |
| Coated paper (s) |
June |
815 |
3.4 |
9,017 |
–1.9 |
| Uncoated free-sheet 7 |
June |
1,107 |
0.1 |
13,425 |
–2.3 |
| Other printing/writing 7 |
June |
127 |
–3.1 |
1,534 |
–8.0 |
| Total packaging and other paper |
June |
360 |
–4.3 |
4,221 |
–4.4 |
| Tissue |
June |
547 |
3.0 |
6,645 |
4.5 |
| Total paper |
June |
3,732 |
0.4 |
44,091 |
–0.8 |
| Unbleached kraft paperboard |
June |
2,010 |
14.1 |
23,769 |
5.7 |
| Semichemical medium |
June |
474 |
–6.7 |
5,781 |
–2.5 |
| Bleached paperboard |
June |
467 |
–4.1 |
5,545 |
–1.0 |
| Recycled paperboard |
June |
1,282 |
–0.5 |
15,337 |
0.5 |
| Total paperboard |
June |
4,232 |
2.8 |
50,431 |
2.4 |
| Total paper and paperboard 5 |
June |
7,964 |
1.7 |
94,523 |
0.9 |
 |
| Total woodpulp production |
June |
5,241 |
–1.3 |
64,499 |
0.3 |
| Market pulp production |
June |
727 |
3.7 |
8,046 |
–4.2 |
| Wastepaper consumption at paper/board mills |
June |
3,007 |
n.a. |
n.a. |
2.5 |
 |
| Corrugated box shipments (billion ft2) 6 |
June |
33.813 |
4.0 |
62.670 |
1.6 |
| Containerboard inventories at mills/plants |
June 30 |
2,931 |
12.4 |
6,084 |
–1.5 |
 |
| U.S. paper imports (including products) |
May |
1,406 |
6.5 |
16,561 |
10.5 |
| Imports of Canadian newsprint |
May |
580 |
–6.0 |
6,803 |
–4.6 |
| U.S. paper exports (including products) |
May |
1,041 |
–8.0 |
13,130 |
–1.9 |
| Exports of unbleached kraft liner |
May |
301 |
–20.6 |
4,343 |
–2.1 |
| Exports of woodpulp |
May |
538 |
–0.9 |
5,545 |
–14.1 |
 |
| Total newsprint shipments 6 |
June |
771 |
–4.8 |
4,460 |
–6.6 |
| Operating rates, % |
June |
88 |
96.0 |
90 |
97.0 |
| Inventories held by U.S. consumers 6 |
June |
750 |
–0.1 |
|
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| Woodpulp shipments 6 |
June |
776 |
–15.1 |
4,846 |
–8.3 |
| Operating rates, % |
June |
88 |
96.0 |
85 |
92.0 |
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| 1. American Forest &Paper Assn. 2. AF&PA, Bureau of Census, American Pulpwood Assn. 3. Fibre Box Assn., Paperboard Packaging Council. 4. Canadian Pulp and Paper Assn. 5. Includes construction and wet machine grades. 6. Not annualized. 7. Categories have been revised: thin papers, previously included under the “other printing/writing” category, is now part of uncoated free-sheet. “Other printing/writing” now encompasses only bristols and cotton fiber papers. (s) = Shipments. n.a. = not available. |
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