Cut-size office paper prices hit record $1,100/ton

By Tom Stundza -- Purchasing, 3/26/2008 9:42:00 AM

Cut-size office copier paper cost $1,100/net ton in March, a $60 increase, according to buyer surveys by Purchasingdata.com. Upshot: Buyers now are paying 38% more for basic office white paper than they did in January 2006. The uncoated free sheet market is somewhat soft, analysts report, but supply has been tightened by machine shutdowns for maintenance and lack of imports due to the weak U.S. dollar.

The price hike was initiated by Domtar in January and eventually was announced by such other mills as International Paper, Boise Cascade and Georgia-Pacific. The price increases are accelerating the use of recycled copier paper, according to J.P. Morgan & Co. analyst Claudia Shank Hueston.