The US pulp, paper, and paperboard mill industry consists of about 320 companies with total combined annual revenue over $70 billion. Major companies include Wausau-Mosinee Paper and units of integrated manufacturers International Paper, Georgia-Pacific, and Weyerhaeuser. An average mill has over 100 employees and annual revenue over $60 million. The industry is highly concentrated: the top 20 companies produce 70 percent of industry revenue.
COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE
Demand depends on both consumer and business use of paper products. Because many costs are fixed, profitability depends on volume and production efficiency. Mills owned by large international paper companies have advantages by being vertically integrated. The parent corporation may own timber farms, sawmills, pulp and paper mills, conversion plants, and other end-product manufacturing facilities. Small mills can successfully compete regionally, in close proximity to timber operations and customers. Mills are highly automated and capital-intensive; average annual revenue per employee is about $450,000.
PRODUCTS, OPERATIONS & TECHNOLOGY
Major product segments are wood pulp, paper, paperboard, and newsprint. Paper accounts for 60 percent of industry revenue, paperboard 30 percent, and newsprint 5 percent. Other products include non-wood pulp -- from cotton, straw, rag, flax, de-inked scrap paper and bagasse (the outer stalk of sugar cane) -- and byproducts such as turpentine and tall oil. Within the paper segment, major products are tissue papers, uncoated sheet papers, and coated printing papers. Paperboard is used mainly to make boxes and other containers.
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