AF&PA Hints at Marginal Rise in U.S. Printing-Writing Paper Shipments

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): The American Forest & Paper Association (AF&PA) released its December 2021 Printing-Writing monthly report.

The total printing-writing paper shipments in December last year recorded marginal increase by 0.1%, compared to December 2020. The U.S. purchases of printing-writing paper registered a jump by 8% during the month year-on-year. The inventory levels witnessed 1% increase over the prior month.

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The shipments of uncoated free sheet (UFS) increased 2%, compared to December 2020. The UFS imports increased 16%, whereas exports recorded decline by 31%, when compared with the prior month. The inventory level witnessed marginal improvement by 1%, compared with the prior month.

The U.S, purchases of coated free sheet (CFS) papers surged higher by 3% year-on-year, whereas the inventory level increased 4% month-on-month. CFS imports skyrocketed by 62%, while exports were down significantly by 7% in December 2021. Meantime, the coated mechanical (CM) paper purchases increased by 8% from the prior-year month, while the inventory level dropped by 2% from prior month.

According to AF&PA report, the U.S. shipments of uncoated mechanical (UM) papers witnessed a rise by 5% year-on-year in December last year. The inventory level has declined by 4%. The imports and exports of UM both were up by 3% and 34% respectively over the prior year.