Total Printing/Writing Paper Shipments Drop

U.S. printing and writing paper shipments overall dropped 9.1% in October from the previous month and fell 12.5% compared to October 2007, the American Forest & Paper Assn. reported. Total U.S. coated paper shipments dropped 5.0% to 750,900 tons in October from September and decreased 17.3% compared to a year earlier. Coated freesheet paper volumes declined 4.7% month-to-month and 15.4% year-over-year. Coated mechanical paper volumes were down 5.2% in October from the previous month and 19.4% lower than October 2007.