"Industry efforts, the voluntary, market-driven recovery system, and the millions of Americans who make the decision to recycle every day have helped to keep U.S. paper recovery at continuously high levels," said AF&PA President and CEO Donna Harman.
The largest cost component when manufacturing wood pulp is the cost of wood fiber. This cost has declined substantially in U.S. dollar terms the past few years with the global price falling almost 10% in 12 months. Softwood and hardwood pulp price indices are at their lowest levels in more than 10 years.