Output from U.S. paper mills was down 1.8% to 3.40 million tons while paperboard production rose for the sixth consecutive month to 4.27 million tons, a 0.8% gain, the American Forest & Paper Assn. reported.

The industry March total of 7.66 million tons placed the first quarter’s improvement at 1.4%, or 303,000 tons, to 22.75 million tons. Paperboard added 2.3%, or 287,000 tons, and paper improved by 0.1%, or 15,000 tons, over the first three months of the year.

U.S. mills ran at a 94% average rate for the month, compared to a revised 95% in February and 96% in January. The paperboard machine rate was 96% and paper mills ran at 91% of capacity.

AF&PA estimated that paper and paperboard purchases were 8.02 million tons in March for a 0.2% first quarter rise. It estimated imports at 1.58 million tons, including products, a drop of 1.4% in the first quarter, and said exports were at 1.22 million tons, an 8.4% three-month rise.

Printing & writing shipments dropped 2.5% in the month to end the first quarter up by 0.6%.

The problem area in paper was with uncoated freesheet, the largest segment, which fell 9.6% to 939,000 tons and ended the quarter off by 3.1%. U.S. purchases of UFS were also down, declining 9.4%. However, UFS inventories increased 1.3%, or 14,500 tons from the Feb. 29.

Coated mechanical paper rose 10.0% to 408,000 tons and a 10.3% first-quarter gain while uncoated mechanical added 5.3% in March to 178,000 tons and a 13.1% rise for the quarter.

Coated freesheet remained even with last year at 416,000 tons but shipments were down 3.6%, or 44,000 tons for the first quarter. Coated papers combined showed a net 2.9% improvement in the first three months.

Overall p&w inventories added 0.7%, dropping slightly for coated paper and adding 9,000 tons (10.3%) for uncoated mechanical.

Tissue production in March dropped 2.2%, but was up 3,000 tons (0.2%) in the first quarter. Newsprint production declined 1.3% to 389,000 short tons and was off 4.2% in the quarter.

Paper packaging grades gained 9,000 tons on strengthing unbleached kraft shipments, which rose 7.1% in the quarter, and in all added 28,000 tons, a 2.8% improvement.

In paperboard, U.S. mills continued to boost output of recycled grades and the first quarter’s rise was 4.0%, or 145,000 tons. The gain was 11.0% for recycled linerboard, including March’s 8.6% rise, and 2.5% for recycled boxboard after a 5,000-ton (2.6%) drop in the month..

Containerboard output for domestic packaging rose 2.1% to 2.67 million tons, as part of a 2.1% gain for overall containerboard, AF&PA reported. The unbleached kraft paperboard component for export added 2.8% in March to 2.00 million tons.

AF&PA reported that solid bleached paperboard production fell 40,000 tons, or 8.1%, including an 11.0% decline for SBS folding boxboard. For the quarter SBS output fell 6.6% for cartons, 27.3% for linerboard and by 2.1% overall.