Domestic Paper Stock Use Dips First Seven Months

The consumption of recovered fiber at domestic paper and paperboard mills posted a modest 1 percent decline over the first seven months, compared to figures the same time last year.

For July, consumption stands at 3.013 million tons, pushing the seven-month figure to 20.473 million tons, compared to last year’s seven-month total of 20.683 million tons.

Despite the decline in consumption so far this year, the consumption figure for July is up from last July’s number of 2.886 million tons.

While the consumption of recovered fiber is starting to improve, the inventory of recovered fiber is declining. The drop indicates that many of these paper stock consuming mills have been able to lessen their inventory levels. At the end of July inventory of recovered fiber stands at 952,000 tons, a 16.6 percent drop from figures the same time last year.

While the figure is down from last July, the inventory level is up 11.8 percent from figures the same time last year.

The decline for the month follows an overall trend downward for the paper industry. Newsprint inventories have declined 56 percent; linerboard inventories dropped 18.6 percent; and corrugated medium inventory levels declined 13.8 percent.

While inventories declined, the export of recovered fiber for June, the most recently reported month, improved by 4 percent. For June, paper stock exports reached 906,000 tons, pushing the annual rate, year to date, to slightly more than 11 million tons.