<B>Paper Stock Exports Up for 2000</B>

The export of recovered fiber ended sharply up for the year. According to the U.S. Commerce Department, total exports for December reached 972,964 tons. The figures for the month pushed the full year export total to around 10.5 million tons, a 27.3 percent increase from 1999’s export total of 8.285 million tons.

The sharp increase in exports topped the strong move by pulp, which realized a 20.1 percent increase between the two years.

Shipments to Canada, the largest end market for U.S. recovered fiber, closely followed the overall export total. For last year shipments reached 2.824 million tons, a 22.4 percent increase from the previous year’s total.