The Monopoly That Haunts the U.S. Coated Paper Market Is the USPS, Contends Industry Analyst

The U.S. Department of Justice seems likely to force NewPage and/or Verso Paper to divest at least one paper mill, Verle Sutton wrote this week in his subscription newsletter The Reel Time Report. DOJ is concerned that combining North America’s two largest makers of coated paper would give the new company the power to drive up prices.

The bulk of coated paper purchased in the United States ends up in the U.S. Postal System in the form of catalogs, magazines, direct-mail pieces, etc. But what really hurts is that customers are making strategic decisions knowing that USPS’s future is in the