Paper Outlook — Paper Trails Economy

Paper makers have tried floating increases for a variety of grades, but they've generally had trouble getting the higher prices to stick. This has led to a "crying wolf" scenario, but there's still a sense that sooner or later the predictions have to be right.

"I've become a little gun shy to take any news about paper to my clients until it happens," comments Tim Poole, president of Dome Printing in Sacramento, CA. "I've been burned over the last couple years in going to clients and saying, 'Paper prices are going to start rising, and we need to be more cautious that inventories will get tighter.' Just about every time, paper prices subsequently went down and inventories became more available."