United Stationers received notifications of cut-sheet paper price increases ranging between 4% and 6% from all of the major domestic cut-size paper mills. 

We will implement price changes to our customers on February 22, 2010 for orders delivered from our warehouses.  For mill-direct orders the effective date will be as follows, based on when the product ships from the mill:

Mill                               Shipment Date

Boise Paper                  February 18, 2010

Domtar                         February 15 2010

Georgia Pacific             February 22, 2010

International Paper        February 15, 2010

Any special promotional activity United may have in the market at the time of this increase could be changed because of the paper mill announcements.  Detailed pricing files will be available as soon as possible.

The mills listed above represent approximately 85% of the cut-size market share in North America.  When such a significant portion of the market changes price it is an indicator that the increase will hold.

The primary drivers behind this increase involve significant input cost inflation, such as pulp prices, combined with a reduction in the amount of paper making manufacturing capacity.  These are factors that apply market wide, so the price increase should be passed along the entire supply chain to end consumers.

As consumer demand starts to recover and simultaneously paper mills remove manufacturing capacity United Stationers anticipates the paper supply to tighten as the year progresses.  We are well positioned to support the paper needs of our customers even in an allocated market should supply restrict to that degree.

Please contact your United Stationers Account Manager, our Paper Specialists or me should you have any questions about this increase.

Thank you for your ongoing business.

Regards,

Glenn A. Moore

Director, Category Product Management - Office Products

United Stationers Supply Co.

One Parkway North Blvd. Ste. 100

Deerfield, IL 60015