Imports
of 8.9 million tonnes are 4.8% higher through six months.
The
total US pulp and paper trade balance in the period stands at 11.6 million
tonnes, but when excluding the large and relatively low-value recovered paper
trade, the US surplus narrows to 2.5 million tonnes. The US exported 9.6
million tonnes of recovered paper through June, down 4.5% from 2012.
The
US paper industry has seen a rare trade surplus running for four years due to a
growth trend in recovered paper and packaging exports and a contraction in
graphic paper imports. Those trends are generally absent in 2013 so far.
