<b>Paper Production Sluggish First Three Months</b>

The production of paper through the first three months of the year declined. According to the American Forest and Paper Association, total production through March stands at 10.885 million tons, a drop of 5.6 percent from figures the same time last year.

The decline in paper production was caused by drops in each of the key paper categories. Printing and writing paper production, the largest component of the paper industry, posted a drop of 7.3 percent between the two years, with this year’s three-month total standing at 6.284 million tons.

Newsprint production, after enjoying strong markets through all of last year, also is seeing sharp drops between last year and this year. According to the AFPA, production the first three months this year stand at 1.749 million tons, a 5.6 percent drop from figures the same time last year.

The other key grade of paper, tissue paper, did not have production figures reported to the AFPA so they were not included.

Wood pulp production also saw a sharp decline between the two years, according to the AFPA. For March, wood pulp production stands at 4.843 million tons, bringing the annual rate, year to date, to 58.125 million tons. The figure is down 9.5 percent from figures the same time last year.

Although the figure is down sharply from last year, more pulp and paper operations have been working to reduce the total inventory of pulp on hand. At the end of March the inventory level stands at 673,500 tons, a 10 percent drop from the previous month.

The significant amount of downtime taken at domestic pulp operations also allowed mills to curtail the days of supply on hand to 32 days, compared to 36 days on hand at the end of February.