Washington - A new report by the American Forest & Paper Assn. presents final data for the US paper and paperboard industry for 2009 and shows total production of these products declined 10.6% from the prior year to 79.1 million tons.

“These results reflected the effects of the economic downturn on the paper and paperboard industry in the United States,” said AF&PA chief economist Dr. Stanley Lancey.  “However, paper and paperboard production rebounded 8.6% versus year ago during the first six months of 2010,” he said.

The report, 2009 Statistical Summary of Paper, Paperboard and Wood Pulp, shows US exports of paper and paperboard retreated 10.9% to 13.8 million tons in 2009.  However, imports of these products fell further, down 20.5% from 2008 to 13.4 million tons, resulting in a positive balance of trade for this product segment.  With exports picking up steam in the first half of 2010 while imports remain subdued, Dr. Lancey said he expects the trade balance to remain positive through the year.

In addition to these findings, the report presents a broad range of industry statistics including:
- Grade-level production and new supply data for most paper and paperboard products;
- Fiber utilization and recovery data;
- Grade-level capacity data for pulp, paper and paperboard; and
- Industry employment, wage and profitability.