Commodity Report

Prices for most paper stock grades throughout the United States remained high as of mid-May, though several paper stock dealers say office grades have shown the greatest increase in pricing. A West-Coast-based paper stock dealer says a number of tissue mills are aggressively purchasing office pack. Pulp substitutes and coated book stock also have been moving briskly at sharply higher prices.

In the Southwest, one paper recycler says buyers in Mexico and South America also are placing orders for the material. In Mexico, SCA Tissue and Kimberly-Clark are competing to lock in orders for office grades, which is keeping prices strong throughout the Southwest, sources say.

Also helping to boost prices for high grades are the premiums being offered by mills in the Midwest and Northwest. Depending on the grade, several sources say the premiums have been as high as $30 more than market price.

In the Northwest, a paper stock dealer says he is concerned that office pack may be nearing maximum recovery, at least in the short term. He speculates that the slowdown in supply is partly because of the popularity of single-stream recycling, which has led to the convergence of grades such as old newspapers, mixed paper and office grades.

(Additional information on secondary paper markets, including breaking news and consuming industry reports, is available from SDB’s sister publication Recycling Today at www.RecyclingToday.com.)