The production of market pulp by North American sources continues to decline, with November figures down 3 percent from figures the same time the previous year. For the month production stands at 1.451 million metric tons, compared to November 2000’s figure of 1.492 million metric tons.
The decline for the month pushed the 11-month total to 15.743 million metric tons, a 12 percent decline from figures the same time in 2000.
Reflecting the continued slump in market pulp production the operating rate at North American mills stands at 86 percent of capacity for November, compared to the previous November’s figure of 91 percent.
On a more positive note, the shipment of finished market pulp from North American sources posted a modest 1 percent increase for November to 1.373 million tons. Despite the increase for the month shipments over the first 11 months of last year are down 8 percent to 15.76 million metric tons, compared to the same time the previous year.
While total production declined, production at U.S. pulp mills actually increased by 5 percent to 638,000 metric tons during November. For the first 11 months, however, pulp production at U.S. mills declined 8 percent to 6.706 million metric tons.
Canadian pulp mills, on the other hand, show little sign of a turnaround. For November production stands at 813,000 metric tons, an 8 percent drop from the prior year’s November figure. For the first 11 months the decline is an even steeper 15 percent to 8.767 million metric tons.