Paper Shipments Down Again
Summary: Paper shipments in the U.S. are down again.
Doc hates to be the bearer of bad news, but paper shipments in the U.S. are down again for the month of August.
According to the American Forest & Paper Association’s August 2011 Printing-Writing Paper Report, total printing-writing paper shipments decreased 6.4% in August compared to August 2010. All four major printing-writing grades posted decreases compared to last August. U.S. purchases (shipments + imports – exports) of printing-writing papers decreased 10% in August. Total printing-writing paper inventory levels decreased 4% compared to July 2011.
Some points of interest from the report include:
- July exports of uncoated free sheet (UFS) increased year-over-year for the fifth straight month.
- Shipments of coated free sheet (CFS) decreased year-over-year for the ninth consecutive month.
- Coated mechanical (CM) purchases decreased year-over-year for the fifth consecutive month.
- Uncoated mechanical (UM) shipments decreased year-over-year for the fifth consecutive month following 15 consecutive months of year-over-year increases.
Doc has learned one hard and fast rule – when paper shipments are down, business is down. Let’s hope next month’s figures look a little better.
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ZDNet introduces Doc (The DocuMentor), sponsored by RICOH. Through his blog, Doc will educate you about Document Management. So who is Doc? Doc is something of an enigma. He was born to a Russian ballerina and a German electrical engineer who some believe was running covert operations for shadowy corporate interests. Doc grew up in various locations in the United States, although no one seems to know precisely where, least of all Doc. His early schooling was unremarkable except for the time he was caught trying to replace all the mimeograph machines with high-tech color copiers that had mysteriously disappeared from a shipment to Albania. At MIT, he made a name for himself by transforming a large printer into a robot that hunts and eats Roombas. Professionally, he reportedly has seen the insides of more brands, versions, and generations of printer and printer-related hardware than almost anyone. Some say his obsession with paper, printing, and mechanical movement was either started by, or evidenced by, a traumatic childhood episode when he crawled inside an old Xerox 2400 and tried to print himself.
Anyway, Doc has hands on experience with stuff like printer maintenance and fleet management, but his mastery of document management leaves no stone unturned. Important issues like sustainability, security, and regulatory compliance are top of mind for Doc, as are other business technology needs like networking and IT services, making him a true blue IT renaissance man.
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Hopefully things aren't so grim ??? could be that paper consumption is down while business is up, but that hasn't been Doc's experience. Let's all hope the economy picks up ??? regardless of the impact on paper consumption!
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