Paper Products Distributors
Industry Profile Report
Dive Deep into the industry with a 25+ page industry report (pdf format) including the following chapters
Industry Overview Current Conditions, Industry Structure, How Firms Operate, Industry Trends, Credit Underwriting & Risks, and Industry Forecast.
Call Preparation Call Prep Questions, Industry Terms, and Weblinks.
Financial Insights Working Capital, Capital Financing, Business Valuation, and Financial Benchmarks.
Industry Profile Excerpts
Industry Overview
The 6,200 paper and paper product distributors in the US act as middlemen between paper products manufacturers and large customers, such as publishers, printers, government offices, corporate offices, manufacturers, resellers, and retailers. Companies may specialize in bulk printing and writing paper; stationery and office supplies; or industrial and personal service paper. Some large companies have retail operations.
Competition From Alternative Sources
Paper products distributors compete with a variety of alternative sources, including office supply superstores, office supply distributors, traditional retailers (mass merchandisers, warehouse clubs), manufacturers, and Internet retailers.
Push For Less Paper
Technology and the increasing concern over recycling and the environment have led to considerable efforts to reduce paper consumption.
Industry size & Structure
The average paper products distributor operates out of a single location, employs 18-19 workers, and generates $13.2 million annually.
- The paper products distribution industry consists of about 6,200 companies that employ about 116,000 workers and generate about $82 billion annually.
- The industry is concentrated at the top and fragmented at the bottom; the top 50 firms account for about 70% of industry sales.
- Some companies are vertically-integrated; converters may act as distributors and large distributors may have retail operations.
- Large companies with paper distribution operations include Office Depot and Essendant (formerly United Stationers).
Industry Forecast
Paper Products Distributors Industry Growth
Recent Developments
Dec 9, 2024 - Office Market Shows Signs of Improvement
- The US office market posted higher net absorption in the third quarter, and vacancy rates remained steady, perhaps signaling that demand for office space has hit bottom and is back on the upswing, according to a recent report by the real estate firm CBRE. Net absorption in Q3 hit 4.3 million square feet – up about 87% from Q2 2024 – which marked the second consecutive quarter of increasing office space demand. Absorption also exceeded the 3.5 million square feet of new office space that came online in Q3 2024. The office vacancy rate in Q3 2024 was unchanged at 19%, a positive signal after nine quarters of rising vacancies. Third-quarter leasing activity decreased slightly from Q2 2024 but rose more than 11% over Q3 2023. Higher office occupancy could provide a boost to office-related paper consumption.
- In 2023, between 65% and 69% of paper available for recovery in the US was recycled, according to a report released in mid-November by the American Forest & Paper Association (AF&PA). Paper recycling volume in 2023 amounted to an average of 126,000 tons per day. The Recycling rate for cardboard in 2023 was between 71% and 76% - or about 90,000 tons per day. Nearly half of the paper recycled in 2023 was used to make containerboard, which is used to manufacture cardboard boxes. The AF&PA said the US currently recycles almost 60% more paper than it did in 1990.
- Packaging Corporation of America and International Paper – major consumers of recovered fiber – reported robust upticks in box demand in their third-quarter reporting. Packaging Corporation of America said its containerboard production in Q3 2024 hit an all-time high as its corrugated packaging shipments were up 11.1% over Q3 2023. International Paper also enjoyed more robust box demand, and its containerboard shipments in the third quarter increased 14% over the same period a year earlier. International Paper noted that while its input costs were higher in Q3 2023 year over year – partly due to higher costs for old corrugated containers (OCC) – recovered fiber prices have recently begun to soften.
- North American demand for recovered paper is expected to grow as materials recovery facilities (MRF) leverage technology to produce higher volumes of cleaner fiber, according to a recent Fastmarkets webinar. MRFs are investing in optical sorters and AI-enabled equipment that yield cleaner fiber streams, which command higher prices. Improvements at MRFs come as newer paper mill machines have come online in the past year that can process higher volumes of recovered fiber, both mixed paper and old cardboard containers (OCC). Large paper firms – including Smurfit Westrock and Graphic Paper International - are increasingly prioritizing recovered fiber facilities as older plants are closed and remaining operations are consolidated and optimized.
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