North American Newsprint Ships Fall

North American newsprint shipments took a double-digit dip in March, sliding 12.1% from year ago levels and bringing the volume decline in 2013 to 9.9%, according to the Pulp and Paper Products Council.

Overseas newsprint shipments fell 3.2% in March as a 23.2% fall in Latin American shipments offset a 43.9% increase in exports to non-Japan Asia, but first quarter volumes remained 8.2% above offshore exports in the first three months of 2012. Demand for newsprint dropped 12.3% overall in March, with demand from newspapers down 11.7% from March last year and orders from commercial printers for other end uses lower by 14.8%. Mills operated at 89% on a shipment-to-capacity basis, five percentage points lower than a year ago, and mill inventories destined for both domestic and overseas delivery increased on both a monthly and annual basis.