P&W Paper Shipments in U.S. Decline

Printing and writing (P&W) paper shipments in the U.S. were down 6% in November 2013 compared with November 2012, the AF&PA (Washington, D.C., USA) reports in its recently released November 2013 Printing-Writing Paper Report. Total P&W paper inventory levels increased 4% from October 2013. Additional key findings include:  

• November 2013 coated free sheet (CFS) papers shipments decreased 13% compared with November 2012, with YTD shipments through November down 2% relative to 2012 levels. Exports of CFS were down 5% compared with the first 10 months of 2012
• Uncoated free sheet (UFS) paper shipments decreased 4% in November 2013, with year-to-date shipments lagging 2012 levels by 2%. UFS inventories increased 7% from October to November 2013
• November uncoated mechanical (UM) paper shipments increased 14% compared with 2012 and were down 8% YTD compared with the same period in 2012. Year-over-year imports of UM through October 2013 were up 8%, with exports also exceeding 2012 levels by 8%.

Coated mechanical (CM) shipments in November 2013 decreased 10% compared with November 2012. Shipments of CM were down 10% for the year in 2013. Exports of CM increased 24% in October.