Newsprint Production Starts to Perk Up

After several quarters of sharply declining production, North American newsprint producers saw figures for July turn upwards. The improvement, many hope, indicates that the prolonged slump in newsprint markets is improving.

While the figures are up for the month, production figures for the first seven months of the year are still down significantly from figures the same time last year.

According to the Pulp and Paper Products Council, North American newsprint production hit 1.202 million metric tons for July, a 1.2 percent improvement from figures the same time last year.

While total production is up, the improvement was driven exclusively by stronger production figures from Canada. For July, Canadian newsprint production increased by 7.8 percent to 740,000 metric tons.

Meanwhile, U.S. newsprint production continues to struggle. For July, production stands at 462,000 metric tons, a 7.9 percent decline from figures the same time last year.

For the first seven months of the year North American newsprint production stands at 1.484 million metric tons, compared to last year’s seven-month figure of 1.667 million metric tons, an 11 percent decline between the two years.

The improvement in production for the month resulted in the operating rate at North American newsprint mills standing at 88 percent of capacity, compared to last July’s operating rate of 87 percent of capacity. For the first seven months the operating rate stands at 87 percent of capacity, compared to last year’s seven-month total of 93 percent of capacity.