Chemical pulps (sulfate, sulfite, soda, cotton linters, and vegetable fiber) are used to make uncoated free-sheet (or woodfree) papers, with occasional additions of up to 10% mechanical fiber or bleached chemithermomechanical pulps (BCTMP) and recycled fibers. BCTMP furnishes lower the cost of manufacture while providing a better grade of paper than stone groundwood or other mechanical pulps. Some 60% of producers have converted some or all of their operations to alkaline-based paper, and most new installations are alkaline.
Uncoated free-sheet papers are used for office and business printing (copiers, computer printers, etc.), business forms and envelopes, publishing (mostly textbooks and "trade" books), commercial printing, and writing (stationery). A smaller subgrouping includes products such as cigarette papers and carbonizing tissue, and there are various converting substrates.
Offset and office/business papers represent about one-quarter each of uncoated free-sheet production in the U.S. Single-sheet office reprographic is increasing the share of cut-size bond papers, primarily for computer printers and photocopiers. Offset papers were about 25% of 1993 U.S. production of uncoated free-sheet papers. Bond and writing grades were about 31%. Form bond has been losing ground to cut-size bond, dropping to 15% in 1993 from under 18% in 1992 and 19% in 1991. Envelope grades represented almost 11%; tablet and the text and cover segments were under 4%. Miscellaneous printing/writing papers made up the balance.
| Company | Annual Capacity (000 short tpy) | Market Share (%) |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Georgia-Pacific Corp. (2) | 2,223 | 14.2% |
| 2. International Paper Co. | 2,040 | 13.1% |
| 3. Champion International Corp. (1) | 1,868 | 12.0% |
| 4. Boise Cascade Corp. (2) | 1,310 | 8.4% |
| 5. Union Camp Corp. | 1,100 | 7.0% |
| 6. James River Corp. (2) | 800 | 5.1% |
| 7. Weyerhaeuser Co. (3) | 790 | 5.1% |
| 8. Willamette Inc. (2) | 705 | 4.5% |
| 9. Domtar Inc. | 665 | 4.3% |
| 10. Appleton Papers (4) | 575 | 3.7% |
Market share of top five companies: 40.5%
Market share of top ten companies: 63.1%
Total N. Amer. capacity/year (1994e): 15,614 million short tons
U.S.: 14,030 million short tons
Canada: 1,584 million short tons
e=Pulp & Paper estimate. 1. Company data. Also has 373,000 short tpy capacity in Brazil. 2. Company data. 3. Includes Prince Albert, Sask. 4. Includes carbonless basestock.
*Information supplied June 1994 by Pulp & Paper, to update the table "Top N. American Producers" in the "Grade Profile" for uncoated free-sheet in the April 1994 Pulp & Paper, p.13.
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