René Muschter
Research Expert covering Industry & Mobility
United States pulp and paper industry - statistics & facts
The pulp and paper industry is one of the largest in the world, and the United States plays a major role in it. The U.S. was the largest producer of pulp for paper and the second-largest producer of paper and paperboard worldwide in 2023, after China, which surpassed the U.S. in the early 2000s.
The U.S. paper production is larger than its consumption, and the North American country is a net exporter of paper and paperboard.
Despite still being a major player in the global paper market, the size and the revenue of the U.S. paper sector are declining, while the country is losing ground to China.
The U.S. paper production is larger than its consumption, and the North American country is a net exporter of paper and paperboard.
Paper production in the United States is declining
The production of pulp for paper in the U.S. has fallen by almost 20 percent since the beginning of the century, to 47 million metric tons in 2023. The amount of pulp for paper produced in the U.S. has been declining since the early 1990s, when production reached a high of 65 million metric tons. This decline has coincided with the decrease in paper and paperboard production, which fell by roughly 30 percent between 2000 and 2023. As the digital transformation has increasingly impacted numerous areas of human activity, the consumption of paper in the U.S. has also been on the decline over the past decades.What is the most produced paper product in the United States?
The U.S. paper industry produces a wide range of paper and paperboard grades, but packaging types are the most produced, by weight. In 2023, case materials accounted for more than half of U.S. paper and paperboard production. Case materials, or containerboard, are a type of paperboard used in corrugated board production and have experienced growing demand in recent years from the e-commerce sector. In contrast, the production of graphic papers, such as newsprint, printing, and writing papers, has plummeted almost 80 percent since 2000 due to increased digitalization.Leading paper companies in the United States
The U.S. is home to some of the largest paper companies in the world, such as Kimberly-Clark and International Paper. Kimberly-Clark, with a revenue of over 20 billion U.S. dollars in 2024, is one of the major personal care paper products’ producers worldwide, owning some well-known brands such as Kleenex and Scottex. International Paper is a leading paper packaging producer and reported revenue of 18.6 billion U.S. dollars in 2024. That year, it accounted for almost 30 percent of the North American containerboard market. Other major companies in the U.S. paper industry include Graphic Paper International, Packaging Corporation of America, and Domtar.Despite still being a major player in the global paper market, the size and the revenue of the U.S. paper sector are declining, while the country is losing ground to China.
