<b>North American Newsprint Figures Slide</b>

The production of newsprint from North American sources continues to slide this year. Recent figures from the Pulp and Paper Products Council show figures accelerating their declines for March, the most recently reported month. Further, recent statistics show that production over the first three months are down sharply from figures the same time last year.

The decline in production is attributed to the significant downtime being taken by newsprint mills throughout North America. As producers look to push through price increases, further downtime is being scheduled through the first half of this year. Whether the result will be higher newsprint prices, however, is uncertain.

According to the PPPC, North American newsprint production reached 1.270 million metric tons in March, a 4 percent drop from the same time last year. The operating rate for the month also declined to 95 percent of capacity, compared to last March’s figure of 98 percent of capacity.

For the first three months of the year newsprint production stands at 3.845 million metric tons, a 3.6 percent drop from last year’s three-month total. The operating rate average for this year also declined, from last year’s figure of 97 percent of capacity to this year’s capacity average of 96 percent of capacity.

Broken out by individual countries, newsprint production by U.S. mills declined for both the month and year to date. For March, production stands at 521,000 metric tons, compared to last March’s figure of 556,000 metric tons. For the first three months of the year production stands at 1.587 million metric tons, a 5.6 percent drop from last year’s three-month figure.

Canadian mills also posted declines between the two years, although the fall was not nearly as sharp. For March, production stands at 750,000 metric tons, compared to last March’s figure of 767,000 metric tons. The figures pushed the three-month figure to 2.259 million metric tons, a 2.2 percent drop from figures the same time last year.