Pulp and paper industry in the United States

Industry overview

The United States is one of the biggest consumers of paper in the world. Between 1990 and 2002, paper consumption in the United States increased from 84.9 million tons to 97.3 million tons.

U.S. Pulp and Paper Manufacturing Statistics, 2001

	Number of employees	Total payroll ($1,000)	Total cost of materials ($1,000)	Total cost of shipments ($1,000)
Pulp mills	7,218	414,452	1,847,086	3,238,832
Paper mills	114,670	6,162,914	22,108,471	46,852,538
Paperboard mills	48,773	2,601,324	10,915,434	21,895,908

In 2006, there are approximately 450 paper mills in the United States, accounting for $68 billion.

Leading companies

The top 20 forest and paper products companies in the United States in 2002 were:

Rank	Company	2002 Net Sales (US$M)	2002 Net Income (Loss) (US$M)
1	International Paper	24,976	(881)
2	Georgia-Pacific	23,271	(735)
3	Weyerhaeuser	16,771	16
4	Kimberly-Clark	13,566	1,675
5	Procter & Gamble (Paper)	11,877	954
6	Smurfit-Stone	7,483	65
7	Boise	7,412	11
8	MeadWestvaco	7,242	(389)
9	Temple-Inland	3,374	53
10	Sonoco	2,812	135
11	Bowater Newly AbitibiBowater Inc.	2,581	(142)
12	Louisiana-Pacific	1,943	(62)
13	Packaging Corp. of America	1,736	48
14	Universal Forest Products	1,640	37
15	Rock-Tenn	1,437	27
16	Potlatch	1,286	(234)
17	Riverwood International	1,247	(11)
18	Plum Creek Timber	1,137	233
19	Rayonier	1,117	54
20	Caraustar	950	(18)

Exports

U.S. Total Pulp and Paper Exports (US$ million)

Product	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002
Pulp, Paper & Paperboard Mill Products	9,752	8,947	8,850	10,276	8,849	7,809
Converted Paper Products	4,842	4,873	5,281	5,702	5,647	6,299

See also

• Environmental issues with paper
• Toilet paper in the United States

External links

• TAPPI Technical Association of the Pulp and Paper Industry
• American Forest and Paper Association
• EPA profile of the pulp and paper industry