Jan 25, 2010 - The American Forest & Paper Association (AF&PA) said that total U.S. printing-writing paper shipments increased 6% in December compared to December 2008, marking the second consecutive year-ago increase.

According to AF&PA's December 2009 Printing-Writing Paper Report, for the year to date, shipments were down 15% — all four major printing-writing grades recorded the lowest year to date decline when compared to 2008 for the sixth consecutive month.

U.S. purchases (shipments + imports – exports) of printing-writing papers also increased in December, up 3% versus year-ago December, yet were still down 17% for the year to date.

Total printing-writing paper inventory levels decreased 41,000 tons from November, a decrease of 2%, AF&PA said.

Additional key findings from the report include:

• Uncoated free sheet (UFS) shipments were up versus year-ago for the first time since April 2007.
• Coated free sheet (CFS) shipments hit double-digit growth versus year-ago.
• Year-ago shipments of coated mechanical (CM) reaches double-digit growth for second consecutive month.
• Uncoated mechanical (UM) purchases up double-digits compared to last December.

SOURCE: The American Forest & Paper Association