Accelerating acceptance of lower basis weight newsprint cuts costs for early adopters,laggards could face an up-charge

摘要

Rolls of"standard"30-lb(48.8 g/m2)newsprint-the benchmark basis weight for pricing in North America-are fast going the way of the buggy whip,industry contacts say,as producers and publishers continue to transition to ever lighter products.About 60-70% of newsprint production in the Eastern USA is now 45 g/m2 or less,and in the West the lighter weights account for more than 90% of shipments,according to mill sources.