<B>Domestic Paper Stock Use Declines</B>

style='font-family:Arial'>Anecdotal evidence about reduced buying by paper and paperboard mills in the United States has been the talk over the past several months.

Reports of wholesale downtime also has played a role in the paper stock markets over the past several months, especially for bulk grades such as old corrugated containers. Now, figures from the American Forest and Paper Association point out that the consumption of recovered fiber at domestic mills is showing sharp

The most recent figures from the AFPA shows domestic paper stock use at 2.922 million tons for September, down close to 10 percent from last September’s consumption level. The consumption total for the month also is down slightly from figures the previous month.

The steady decline in domestic consumption points to a continued move by many paper mills to bring inventories back in line. For the first nine months of the year the consumption of recovered fiber stands at 26.779 million tons, a 4.9 percent drop from figures the same time last year.

While the consumption total is declining, the inventory of recovered fiber at board mills continues to decline. At the end of September the inventory level stands at 1.035 million tons, a 5.1 percent drop from figures the previous month. The figures for the month also are down from inventory levels over the past several months, although they are a jump of 2.5 percent from the inventory levedl the same time last year.

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November 2000
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