U.S. March P&W Paper Shipments Down 11% from 2011
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Total U.S. printing and writing (P&W) paper shipments decreased 11% in March compared with March 2011, according to the AF&PA's (Washington, D.C., USA) Printing-Writing Paper Report released this past week. Three of the four major P&W paper grades posted double-digit decreases compared with last March, and the one single-digit decrease is the largest for that grade since 2009. U.S. purchases (shipments + imports – exports) of P&W papers decreased 16% in March. Total P&W paper inventory levels increased slightly, up just 1% compared with February 2012.
Additional key findings include:
- March 2012 shipments of uncoated free sheet (UFS) papers were the only grade down less than double-digits (as a point of reference, March 2011 shipments of UFS were the highest since October 2008. UFS year-to-date shipments were down 2%)
- Shipments of coated free sheet (CFS) papers decreased year-over-year by a double-digit percentage for just the third time since 2009; CFS year-to-date shipments were down 4%
- Compared with a very strong March 2011, coated mechanical (CM) paper shipments showed the greatest year-over-year decline of the four grades
- Uncoated mechanical (UM) paper purchases were down sharply, partly as a result of UM imports hitting their lowest level since February 1997.
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