The United States is one of the biggest paper consumers in the world. Between 1990 and 2002, paper consumption in the United States increased from 84.9 million tons to 97.3 million tons. In 2006, there were approximately 450 paper mills in the United States, accounting for $68 billion.

Leading companies

The top 10 forest and paper products companies in net sales in the United States in 2012 were:

{| class="wikitable"

!Rank

!Company

!2012 Net Sales<BR>(US$M)

!2012 Net Income (Loss)<BR>(US$M)

|-

|1

|International Paper

|21,833

|799

|-

|2

|Kimberly-Clark

|21,063

|1,750

|-

|3

|RockTenn

|9,208

|249

|-

|4

|Weyerhaeuser

|6,221

|385

|-

|5

|MeadWestvaco

|5,459

|205

|-

|6

|Sonoco

|4786

|196

|-

|7

|Graphic Packaging

|4,337

|123

|-

|8

|NewPage

|3,131

|1258

|-

|9

|Packaging Corporation of America

|2,844

|164

|-

|10

|Boise Cascade

|2,779

|41

|}

Manufacturing statistics

{| class="wikitable"

|+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

|}

Exports

{| class="wikitable"

|+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
  • Wood industry

References

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