U.S. P&W Paper Shipments Decrease
Total U.S. printing and writing (P&W) paper shipments decreased 9% in December 2012 compared with December 2011, according to the recently released AF&PA (Washington, D.C., USA) December 2012 Printing-Writing Paper Report. For the year of 2012, P&W and related paper shipments were 4.6% below the 2011 level. All four of the major P&W grades posted decreases compared with December 2011, with inventory levels increasing in November 2012, led by double-digit increases in mechanical grade papers.
Additional key findings of the report included:
- December shipments of coated free sheet (CFS) papers decreased 7% compared with December 2011 and were down 3% for the year in 2012. Year-to-date imports of CFS through November were down 12% compared with the 11-month period in 2011.
- Uncoated free sheet (UFS) paper shipments decreased 7% compared with December. Annual purchases of UFS papers for the year were down 4% compared with 2011. Year-to-date UFS imports were up 4% in 2012 compared with the same 11 months in 2011.
- December uncoated mechanical (UM) paper shipments decreased 27% compared with December 2011, with annual shipments 17% below 2011 levels.
- December shipments of coated mechanical (CM) papers decreased 10% compared with December 2011 and 5% for the year.
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