<B>Paper Stock Use Down First Quarter</B>

The domestic consumption of recovered fiber dipped a slight 0.5 percent for the first three months, compared to figures the same time last year. According to the AFPA, the consumption of recovered fiber in March stands at 3.117 million tons, bringing the three-month total to 9.204 million tons.

While recovered fiber consumption declined, the shipment of pulp increased by 1.9 percent for the first three months of the year.

Inventories of recovered fiber at domestic mills continue to decrease. The drop reflects the move by domestic mills to adhere more closely to a just-in-time inventory approach.. At the end of March the inventory of recovered fiber stands at 1.044.9 million tons, a decline of 4.5 percent from last March's figures.

While recovered fiber inventory declined, the inventory of other forest products also declined. Market pulp inventories dropped by 14.4 percent to 435,000; newsprint inventories dropped by 47 percent; linerboard inventories declined by 18.1 percent; and printing and writing papers dropped 3.1 percent.