Competitive analysis of North American newsprint producers using composite statistical indicators of product and process performance

Statistical analysis of newsprint samples from 30 North American mills produced four composite indicators that efficiently desribed newsprint quality. A computational method proposed is useful because it condenses large sets of correlated data into a more manageable form, thus providing insight into the interactions between processing variables and product quality. Mills can use this information to adjust their operating conditions to meet customers demands and to compare the quality of their products with competitors.