Paper Stock Exports Climb in January

Paper stock exports posted strong figures the first month of the year, according to figures by the Commerce Department. According to the government agency, total paper stock exports reached about 850,000 tons with a value of $93 million, a 23 percent increase from the same time last year.

The figures for the month follows December's export total of 802,000 tons, and indicates a growing interest by many mills outside the United States.

Helping drive total paper stock exports was the increase in shipments to Canada. This region, the largest consumer of recovered fiber from the United States, saw paper stock imports from the United States jump 34.3 percent, with January's total at 220,914 tons. While strong, the monthly total was down slightly from the previous month.

Recovered fiber was not the only paper-related product posting an increase for the month. Total wood pulp exports also increased this year, with January's total at slightly less than 500,000 tons, a 13.1 percent increase from figures the same time last year.