NewPage to Close Mill, Drop Price Hike

NewPage Corp. announced that it will close its Whiting, WI, mill at the end of February 2011. Approximately 360 employees will be affected by the shutdown.

The Whiting mill currently operates two paper machines, which produce approximately 250,000 tons annually of coated paper used by the publishing and printing industry, with a primary focus on mail-order catalog, magazine and retailer end uses.

In other news, NewPage has reportedly dropped a $20-$50/ton January price hike that it previously announced for a range of coated and uncoated paper products, according to RISI, an information provider for the forest products industry.

Total U.S. printing/writing paper shipments fell 3.2 percent from September to October and are down 4 percent compared to October 2009, according to preliminary data from the American Forest & Paper Association.