Paper Stock Exports Show Increases

Total paper stock exports for the first 11 months of last year are up 1 percent from figures the same time in 1998, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce. Total shipments for the month stand at around 650,000 tons. The value of these exports are slightly more than $80 million tons. For the first 11 months export totals are at 6.789 million tons with a value of more than $730 million.

While exports are up from 1998, the November figure is down a sharp 6.7 percent from the previous month. The export decline was seen with four of the five segmented commodity groups. Exports of ONP dropped 9.3 percent; mixed paper declined by 9 percent; pulp substitutes declined by 1.8 percent; and OCC dropped by 5.1 percent.

By end market region Canada continued to be the leading importer of U.S. recovered fiber, with the total for November at slightly less than 200,000 tons. ONP was the largest volume paper stock grade shipped during the month. The second largest importer of U.S. recovered fiber for the month was China, which imported 113,600 tons for November. Other large importers of recovered fiber from the United States were the following: Korea, importing 99,000 tons of paper stock; Mexico, importing 93,532 tons; and Japan, importing slightly more than 24,000 tons for the month.

Despite the drop for the month, for the full year ONP exports increased 2.9 percent to about 2 million tons; deinking grades increased by 14.8 percent to 575,000 tons; and mixed paper jumped by 29.3 percent to 1.831 million tons. Grades declining between the two years were OCC, down 14.6 percent to slightly less than 2 million tons; and pulp substitutes, off 22.6 percent to 472,000 tons.