Q1 Paper Outlook — Market Taking Stock

Looking at conditions another way, the PPPC reports the industry's operating rate (measured by the shipment-to-capacity ratio) stood at 93 percent in October 2002, compared to 89 percent the previous year. Mill inventories were down more than 8.5 percent compared to October 2001 and had dropped 3 percent just from the prior month (September 2002), according to the association's monthly market data.