<B>Commerce Department Shows Strong September Export Figures</B>

The export market has been struggling over the past several weeks. While it is becoming more difficult moving material, exports in September, the most recently reported month, finds the export figured up sharply.

The totals for the month stand at slightly more than 900,000 tons with a value of $92 million. The monthly total is up 27.7 percent from figures the same time last year.

Continuing to drive the export market is shipments to Canada. For September, shipments from the United States to Canada stand at 226,846 tons, pushing the ten-month export total up 31.8 percent from last year.

The strength in the export market, recognized during the month, was also seen in the shipment of other paper and forest products commodities: wood pulp posted a 12.3 percent increase over the first ten months of the year; while paper board and products increased 8.7 percent.

Although the September figure has been promising, some attribute the improvement to mills finishing up material purchases for the Christmas/end of year run times by mills.