U.S. P&W Paper Shipments Down 3% from 2011

Total U.S. printing and writing (P&W) paper shipments decreased 3% in January compared with January 2011, according to the AF&PA's (Washington, D.C., USA) January 2012 Printing-Writing Paper Report released this week. All four major P&W paper grades posted decreases compared with last January. U.S. purchases (shipments + imports – exports) of P&W papers decreased 8% in January. Total P&W paper inventory levels increased 1% compared with December 2011.

According to AF&PA, the pace of growth of the U.S. economy accelerated as we progressed through 2011, with each quarter posting ever higher growth rates (0.4%, 1.3%, 1.8%, and 3.3%, respectively) – and GDP is forecast to be 1.7% for the year. While the unemployment rate did not follow this exact pattern, the end result was the same, beginning at 8.9% for Q1, rising to 9.1% for Q2 and Q3, but then decreasing to 8.7% for Q4. The overall effect on total non-farm employment was positive for the four quarters of 2011, increasing 1.3%, 1.4%, 0.9%, and 1.3%, respectively. In spite of these positive developments, P&W paper shipments decreased in all four quarters for the year and, except for a slightly less negative quarter to end the year, slowed at a progressively declining rate—down 1.6%, 6.4%, 7.0%, and 4.9%, respectively.

TAPPI
http://www.tappi.org/