After some slight year-end and holiday delays, the American Forest & Paper Association has published its production statistics for December 2015.

Printing-Writing Paper Report

Total printing-writing paper shipments decreased 6.0% in December, compared to December 2014. Total PW paper inventory levels rose by 1.0% from November levels.

Uncoated freesheet paper shipments rose by 1.0% over shipments in December 2014, the fourth year-over-year increase during 2015. For the year, UFS shipments were down 1.0%. Imports of UFS fell 15% year-over-year in November and were down 10% year-to-date compared to 2014.

Coated freesheet shipments in December were flat (up less than 1.0%) compared to December 2014, with annual shipments down 6.0% from 2014. Imports of CFS papers fell by 18% in November.

Uncoated mechanical paper shipments decreased 7.0% compared to December 2014. UM shipments were also down 7.0% for the year. Imports of UM papers were down 10% in November, the 17th consecutive monthly decline.

Coated mechanical shipments in December fell 28% relative to December 2014 and were down 16% for the year. Imports of CM dropped by 12% in November, compared to the same month of 2014, and were up 10% compared to 2014.

Kraft Paper Production

Total kraft paper shipments were 129.9 thousand short tons, 7.7% lower than in December 2014. Bleached kraft paper shipments rose from 6.8 thousand short tons in November to 7.5 thousand, while unbleached kraft paper fell from 123.6 thousand to 122.4 thousand short tons. Overall, shipments in 2015 were 1.3% higher than in 2014. Total month-end inventories dropped to 70.6 thousand short tons.

Containerboard Statistics

Containerboard production was 3.2% lower, compared to December 2014. Month-over-month average daily production compared to November 2015 was 2.5% lower. The containerboard operating rate for December dropped to 90.5%. The 2015 overall operating rate of 95.6% was 0.5% lower than in 2014.

Boxboard Production Report

Total boxboard production rose by 1.7% compared to December 2014 and was up 0.3% from the previous month. Unbleached kraft boxboard production rose over the same month of last year but decreased compared to the previous month. Total solid bleached boxboard and liner production decreased when compared to December 2014, but rose compared to the last month. Production of recycled boxboard increased compared to December, but decreased compared to the last month.