Archive:Pulp, paper and paper product statistics - NACE Rev. 1.1
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- Data from January 2009. Most recent data: Further Eurostat information, Main tables and Database.
This article belongs to a set of statistical articles which analyse the structure, development and characteristics of the various economic activities in the European Union (EU). The present article covers the pulp, paper and paper products sector, corresponding to NACE Rev 1.1 Division 21, which is part of the wood and paper manufacturing sector. The activities covered in this article are:
- the manufacture of pulp, paper and paperboard, through mechanical and chemical processes, corresponding to NACE Group 21.1;
- further processing of pulp, paper and paperboard, which includes the manufacture of corrugated, household and sanitary paper products, as well as newsprint, wallpaper and stationery (NACE Group 21.2).
The pulp, paper and paper products sector does not include forestry, logging and related activities (NACE Division 02), and so these are not covered in this article.
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Main statistical findings
Structural profile
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_Production_of_selected_products,_EU-27,_2007_(1).PNG)
_Main_indicators,_2006_(1).PNG)
The pulp, paper and paper products (NACE Division 21) manufacturing sector was dominated by a relatively few number of large enterprises; there were only 19.4 thousand enterprises across the EU-27 that had pulp, paper and paper products manufacturing as their main activity in 2006, together they employed an estimated 715.0 thousand persons and generated EUR 41.1 billion of value added, which was equivalent to 52.5 % of the total value added generated across the whole of the wood and paper manufacturing sector.
The manufacturing of articles of paper and paperboard (NACE Group 21.2) subsector was larger than the manufacturing of pulp, paper and paperboard (NACE Group 21.1) subsector, both in terms of value added generated (55.6 % of the pulp, paper and paperboard total) and, more particularly, of employment (68.7 %). The manufacture of corrugated paper and paperboard and of containers of paper and paperboard (NACE Class 21.21) was the main activity among those covered by the manufacture of articles of paper and paperboard, accounting for more than 50 % of its value added and employment. The manufacture of paper and paperboard (NACE Class 21.12) was the principal activity among those within the pulp, paper and paperboard (NACE Group 21.1) manufacturing subsector, accounting for the overwhelming share of value added and employment.
The value added generated by the pulp, paper and paper products manufacturing sector in Germany was EUR 9.7 billion in 2006, which equated to 23.7 % of the EU-27’s value added. This was more than twice the contribution made by Italy or France, the next largest Member States within this activity. However, in terms of the relative contribution made by pulp, paper and paper products to the overall value added of the non-financial business economy, it was Sweden and Finland that were by far the most specialised producers; the sector contributed 2.3 % of Swedish value added in the non-financial business economy, which was three times as high as the EU-27 average, while in Finland its share of non-financial business economy value added rose to 4.3 %, which was six times as high as the EU-27 average.
Between 1997 and 2007, there were upward trends in EU-27 output of pulp, paper and paper board (with production rising by an average of 2.1 % per year) and articles of paper and paper board (1.5 % per year). At a more detailed level, there was a relatively uniform and upward evolution (growth of 2.5 % per year on average) for the manufacture of household and sanitary goods and of toilet requisites (NACE Class 21.22), which contrasted sharply with a relatively unchanged evolution of output observed for paper stationery (-0.2 % per year).
Expenditure and profitability
Personnel costs in the pulp, paper and paper products manufacturing sector accounted for 17.1 % of total operating expenditure across the EU-27 in 2006, a slightly lower proportion than for the whole of the wood and paper manufacturing sector (17.9 %). Average personnel costs in the pulp, paper and paper products manufacturing sector, however, were relatively high at EUR 37.7 thousand per employee in 2006. This was particularly the case with respect to the pulp, paper and paperboard subsector, where average personnel costs were EUR 46.1 thousand per employee, while personnel costs accounted for a relatively low share of operating expenditure (14.2 %), suggesting a relatively high-wage, but capital-intensive manufacturing activity.
The apparent labour productivity of the EU-27’s pulp, paper and paper products manufacturing sector was EUR 57.5 thousand per person employed in 2006. In more detail, the apparent labour productivity of the pulp, paper and paperboard subsector reached EUR 81.3 thousand per person employed in 2006, which was well above that registered for the articles of paper and paperboard subsector (EUR 47.6 thousand per person employed). Even when taking into account the differences in wages, the productivity of the subsectors remained wide apart; as the wage-adjusted labour productivity ratio for the pulp, paper and paperboard subsector was 176.2 % in 2006, compared with 138.9 % for the articles of paper and paperboard subsector.
Among the Member States, the highest wage-adjusted labour productivity ratios for the pulp, paper and paper products manufacturing sector were recorded by Slovakia (282.1 %), Poland (278.7 % in 2005) and Portugal (264.2 %).
Data sources and availability
The main part of the analysis in this article is derived from structural business statistics (SBS), including core, business statistics which are disseminated regularly, as well as information compiled on a multi-yearly basis, and the latest results from development projects.
Other data sources include the PRODCOM statistics on the production of manufactured goods.
Context
The multi-functional role of forests is an area of increasing global scrutiny. Wood is an important, renewable economic resource, while forests are increasingly recognised for the environmental role they play in climate regulation, biodiversity, air, soil and water quality, as well as their recreational function.
Building on the EU Forest Action Plan (COM(2006) 302 final) for 2007 to 2011 and its 18 key actions for sustainable forest management and the improved long-term competitiveness of its associated industries, the EU has been active in pushing for international commitment to end global forest cover loss by 2030 as part of a new 'forestry package'. This package includes proposals from the European Commission that look to address some of the challenges of deforestation and forest degradation in order to tackle climate change and biodiversity loss (COM(2008) 645 final), as well as laying down obligations for operators who place timber and timber products on the market (COM(2008) 644 final). These would include obliging market traders to certify that the timber and timber products they sell have been harvested according to the relevant laws of the country of origin. It is also proposed that a new global financial fund, known as the Global Forest Carbon Mechanism (GFCM), be made available to developing countries as a reward for emissions reductions achieved by taking action to reduce deforestation and forest degradation. The EU’s Emissions trading system (EMS) would be a major source of funding for any GFCM, whereby EUR 2.5 billion could be provided to the fund by 2020 through 5 % of auctioning revenues. Furthermore, those governments that sign-up to a global climate change deal could also be allowed to use so-called deforestation credits towards their individual CO2 reduction commitments.
These proposals, as well as an EU Forest Action plan could have implications for the diverse wood and paper manufacturing sector in the EU. In part, this may reflect the varied size structure of enterprises within the two subsectors: the pulp, paper and paper products subsector is dominated by large, multinational enterprises, many of which are in the Nordic Member States; whereas, the wood and wood products subsector is characterised by relatively small-scale enterprises that are predominantly privately-owned and serve local or national markets.
Pulp is the basic material for the manufacture of paper and board and can be made from woodchips (a by-product of sawmills), fresh wood, recovered paper and from some agricultural products (natural textiles or industrial crops). However, it is in the use of recycled fibres that much progress has been made: the principle is that recycling helps keep the sourcing of virgin fibres at volumes where forests can be managed sustainably, as well as keeping recoverable materials out of landfill. The European Parliament and Council Directive on packaging and packaging waste of 1994 set relatively broad recycling targets for packaging by the end of 2008. The European Commission is currently in the process of making a new set of target proposals for packaging and packaging waste, which should cover the period 2009 to 2014.
The European Declaration on Paper Recycling is an industry initiative that has set a specific target for the recycling rate at 66 % of all paper and board products consumed in Europe to be achieved by 2010. The European Recovered Paper Association (ERPA) reported that the recycling rate for 2006 had reached 63.4 %, with 58.2 million tonnes of paper and board having been recycled (marking an overall increase of about 10 % since 2004) in the EU-27, Switzerland and Norway. The European Recovered Paper Identification System is a further industry initiative that was launched by the Confederation of European Paper Industries (CEPI) in October 2008 to promote a more consistent quality and grade of every bale of recovered paper by means of identification that will enable full traceability.
Further Eurostat information
Publications
- European Business: Facts and figures - 2009 edition
Main tables
Database
Dedicated section
Other information
- Communication COM(2006) 302 final on an EU Forest Action Plan
- Proposal for a Regulation COM(2008) 644 final laying down the obligations of operators who place timber and timber products on the market
- Communication COM(2008) 645 final - Addressing the challenges of deforestation and forest degradation to tackle climate change and biodiversity loss