<B>North American Newsprint Strong First Two Months</B>

North American newsprint production moved up slightly during February, compared to figures the same time last year, according to the Pulp and Paper Products Council. According to the figures, February production stands at 1.252 million metric tons, as mills operated at 96 percent of capacity.

North American newsprint production moved up slightly during February, compared to figures the same time last year, according to the Pulp and Paper Products Council. According to the figures, February production stands at 1.252 million metric tons, as mills operated at 96 percent of capacity.

U.S. newsprint mills posted a 1.7 percent increase to 522,000 metric tons for the month, bringing the two-month total to 1.129 million metric tons, a 4.3 percent increase from figures the same time last year. The operating rate at U.S. newsprint mills stands at 97 percent of capacity for February.

Canadian newsprint mills posted a modest 0.5 percent decline between the two months, according to the PPPC. For February production at Canadian mils stands at 730,000 metric tons.

Despite the modest decline for the month, the two-month production total reached 1.548 million metric tons, a 0.5 percent increase from last year's two-month total. The operating rate at Canadian mills stands at 95 percent of capacity for the month.

Shipments of finished newsprint from North America increased a sharp 4.9 percent for February to 1.271 million metric tons. The figures for the month brought the two-month shipments to 2.612 million metric tons, a 6.1 percent increase from 1999's two-month total. Shipments from U.S. newsprint mills increased by 5.8 percent for the month to 528,000 metric tons, while shipments from Canadian sources increased by 4.2 percent to 743,000 metric tons for the month. For the first two moths shipments from U.S. sources increased by 7.9 percent to 1.098 million metric tons, while shipments from Canadian sources increased by 4.8 percent to 1.514 million metric tons.