Brussels European paper and board output totaled 22.3 million tonnes in the fourth quarter of 2002, according to the Confederation of European Paper Industries (CEPI). Although it was the lowest quarterly production figure of the year, output was still 3.8% higher than the year-earlier period. The final quarter brought annual production up to 90 million tonnes, just below the record output level of 2000.
Production of most pulp, paper and board grades increased in the fourth quarter of 2002 compared to the year-earlier period. Coated and uncoated mechanical paper performed particularly well, with both seeing double-digit growth. The only grade to record a drop in output was uncoated woodfree paper, which slipped by 2.2%. And growth in newsprint production was a modest 0.2%.
Looking at the full year, newsprint had a difficult 2002, with production falling by 5.8%, while mechanical pulp output dipped by 1.2%. But production of other pulp, paper and board grades was higher than in 2001. And several grades rewrote the record books, with containerboard, sanitary and household papers and chemical pulp reaching their highest ever output levels.
On a global basis, production recovered in 2002 from the dip in the previous year. European paper and board output rose by 2.6% and Canadian production climbed by 2.4%. Mills in the US and Japan fared worse though, with US output up just 0.3% and Japanese production down 0.2%. |
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