U.S. P&W Paper Shipments Slide 7%

Total U.S. printing and writing (P&W) paper shipments in May were down 7% compared with May 2012, with total inventory levels increasing 1% from April, according to the AF&PA (Washington, D.C., USA) May 2013 Printing-Writing Paper Report. Additional key findings include:

May shipments of coated free sheet (CFS) papers decreased 2% compared with May 2012, with year-to-date CFS shipments up less than 1% compared with 2012. Imports of CFS papers increased 22% in April compared with the same period last year.
Uncoated free sheet (UFS) paper shipments decreased 5% year-over-year in May. For the year, shipments are down 4% in 2013. Imports of UFS in April increased 26% compared with April 2012.
May uncoated mechanical (UM) paper shipments decreased 11% compared with May 2012, with year-over-year imports through April up 5%.
Coated mechanical (CM) shipments in May decreased 13% compared with May 2012. Shipments of CM are down 12% for the year, with imports through April up 14%.

TAPPI
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