U.S. Printing & Writing Shipments Decline 21.9% in March

Report from AF&PA
U.S. printing & writing paper shipments fell 21.9% in March and first quarter shipments were down 24.0%, the American Forest & Paper Assn. reported.
U.S. purchases (shipments plus imports less exports) of p&w papers dropped 22.8% in March versus a year earlier and fell 24.1% year-to-date.
Inventory levels for uncoated freesheet, coated papers and uncoated mechanical grades decreased 37,100 tons, or 1.6%, from February, AF&PA said.
Contraction of uncoated freesheet shipments for the second consecutive month put volume down 8.7% to 850,200 tons.
That was a sharp change from the 19.6% drop in January, followed by a decline of 19.3% in February. Because of the earlier strong declines, AF&PA noted, first quarter UFS shipments dropped 16.0% below last year.
Purchases of UFS also fell, declining 7.9% when compared to March 2008, as imports again exceeded exports. Inventories decreased 2.9% compared to last month, a decline of 32,300 tons.
Coated papers posted double-digit shipment declines for sixth consecutive month.
Coated freesheet shipments dropped 31.7% to 286,200 tons and were down 27.8% in the first three months of the year. U.S. purchases of CFS decreased 31.1% and were off 27.3% year-to-date.
Coated mechanical shipments again were the weakest of the four principal p&w grades. Shipments fell 39.5% to 248,100 tons, AF&PA said.
Year-to-date shipments of coated mechanical dropped 37.0% and purchases fell 39.8% compared to March 2008. Year-to-date demand for the grades is off 35.4%.
Inventories for coated mechanical paper rose 3.2%, or by 9,500 tons, from last month and CFS inventories decreased 1.8%, or by 11,500 tons month-to-month.
For uncoated mechanical papers, shipments fell for the seventh consecutive month after reaching an all-time high last July.
Shipments declined 27.5% to 135,200 tons, and for the first quarter were down 30.6%.
Since last July, uncoated mechanical paper shipments have risen just once more in August before the pattern of decline began as publishers cut printing of catalogs and newspaper inserts.
U.S. purchases of the uncoated hi-brites, SC grades and directory paper fell 26.4% in March and were down 26.0% for the year. Also, inventories rose 13,200 tons, or 13.4%, from February.
The Coy Paper Company monitors these markets and reports updates into these Pulp and Paper Industry new releases several times each week.