NEW YORK— The American Forest & Paper Association (AF&PA) today released its 49th Annual Survey of Paper, Paperboard, and Pulp Capacity which reported that U.S. paper and paperboard capacity edged down 0.8 percent in 2008 to 96.3 million tons, slightly below the 1.0 percent annual rate of contraction recorded from 2001 through 2007. Cumulatively, paper and paperboard capacity has contracted 7.3 percent since its 2000 peak level.

The Survey also reported that 18 U.S. mills were permanently closed in 2008, shutting down 27 paper and paperboard machines, and an additional 14 machines were permanently shut down at other mills. Furthermore, several mills and machines have been indefinitely idled in response to weak market conditions, but have not been removed from the survey base because they may be restarted at some future date. In 2007, 17 mills and 38 machines were permanently closed.

According to the Survey, total paper and paperboard capacity is projected to decline 1.8% in 2009 and then expand by 0.3 percent in both 2010 and 2011.

The Survey reports U.S. industry capacity data for the years 2008 through 2011 for all grades of paper, paperboard, and pulp, based on a comprehensive survey of all pulp and paper mills in the U.S. Survey respondents represent more than 90 percent of the U.S. industry capacity.