<B>P&amp;W Paper Production Strong First Six Months</B>

The production of printing and writing papers increased by 2.5 percent over the first six months compared to figures the same time last year. According to the American Forest and Paper Association total P&W production stands at 2.308 million tons, compared to last June's figure of 2.286 million tons. For the first six months production stands at 13.545 million tons, compared to last year's Jan.-June figure of 13.214 million tons.

Broken out by individual commodity grades coated groundwood climbed 6.2 percent; coated free sheet decreased by 0.7 percent; total coated sheet, up 1.4 percent; uncoated free sheet, up 2.2 percent; and other printing and writing papers, up 7.5 percent.

The continued strength in the printing and writing segment translated into continued improvement in the movement of market pulp. Most pulp shipments increased for the first six months. Total pulp shipments climbed 1.4 percent for the first six months compared to figures the same time last year. For this year total shipments stand at 4.223 million tons. For June, shipments stand at 781,000 tons, compared to last June's fgure of 748,000 tons.

The improved market came from bleached sulfate pulp, which moved up 1.2 percent, and hardwood pulp, which shot up a strong 9.4 percent between the two years.

The biggest losers in the pulp market were softwood pulp, down 2.6 percent through the first six months and unbleached pulp, down 2.4 percent through the first half of this year.