The domestic consumption of recovered fiber slipped in January from consumption figures the same time last year. For the month consumption stands at 2.937 million tons, compared to last January’s figure of about 3 million tons, a drop of 2.2 percent.
The fall in the use of recovered fiber was seen the sharp fall in paper and paperboard production over the first two months of the year. Production of paper over the first two months stands at 6.677 million tons, an 8.7 percent drop, while paperboard production dropped by 6 percent.
While paper stock consumption and production declined, an optimistic tone is seen with the inventory of recovered fiber. At the end of January, mills were able to cut their inventory levels down slightly from the prior month. According to the American Forest and Paper Association, the paper stock inventory stands at 1.084 million tons, compared to the prior month’s figure of 1.105 million tons.
While down only slightly, several paper stock dealers note that domestic mills that they have been dealing with are reporting some dwindling supplies of material on hand. While this has yet to transfer into a surge in buying, more dealers are reporting increased numbers of calls from some buyers checking to make sure that enough material is available.
A number of dealers also note that some box shops are running at a pretty good clip, which is creating stronger demand for paperboard from many mills.
While these signs are promising, there still are some mills that continue to take some scheduled downtime. However, several other mills have opted to cut short their scheduled downtime.