Figures from the AFPA show the consumption of recovered fiber at domestic mills dipped by 1.1 percent over the first eight months of the year, compared to figures the same time last year. For August, production stands at 3.051 million tons, boosting the figure for the first eight months to 23.522 million tons.
Along with a decline over the first eight months, the consumption figure for August, 3.051 million tons, is down slightly from last August’s consumption figure of 3.097 million tons.
While the decline in domestic paper stock use declined, a more promising note has been the ability of mills to reduce inventory levels. According to the AFPA, the inventory of recovered fiber at domestic mills at the end of August stands at 975,000 tons, a sharp 12.8 percent drop from figures the same time last year.
Through corrective measures, downtime and outright mill closings, many of the consumers have been able to reduce the amount of material on hand. While the figure is down for the month compared to the same time last year, the inventory level did show a modest increase of 2.3 percent from the previous month. Further, the inventory level at the end of August shows a steady rise in inventory levels over the past four months.
While paper stock inventory levels have been declining, several finished paper commodities are posting much steeper declines. Newsprint inventories have plummeted more than 53 percent this year from figures the same time last year; linerboard inventory levels are down 16.5 percent; and printing and writing paper inventory levels down 0.7 percent.