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U.S. P&W Paper Shipments in January were up 9% over the same month of 2009, according to the American Forest & Paper Association' s (AF&PA, Washington, D.C., USA), January 2010 Printing-Writing Paper Report. This is the third consecutive year-ago increase for this grade sector. Three of the four major printing and writing grades recorded double-digit growth compared with 2009. U.S. purchases (shipments + imports - exports) of printing and writing papers also increased in January, up 4% versus year-ago January. Total printing and writing paper inventory levels increased 9,800 tons from December, an increase of 1%.

Some additional highlights from the report include:

• Uncoated free sheet (UFS) shipments up versus year-ago for second consecutive month
• Coated free sheet (CFS) shipments hit double-digit growth versus year-ago for second month
• Year-ago shipments of coated mechanical (CM) reached double-digit growth for third consecutive month
• Uncoated mechanical (UM) shipments surged compared with last January.