Behind the Closing of a Maine Paper Mill: New at Reason

The New York Times recently announced it would take a $41.4 million loss “related to the announced closure of a paper mill operated by Madison Paper Industries.” The Times Company owned part of the mill, though not a controlling interest. The mill’s closure means that 214 employees at the paper factory, in Madison, Maine, will lose their jobs. in the past five years, Maine’s papermaking industry has lost 2,300 job.

Whose fault is it? Maine Republican Gov. Paul LePage attributed the issue in part to technological change. Businesses are increasingly reaching customers with ads on Google or Facebook, not with coupons or display advertisements distributed with Sunday newspapers or in glossy magazines, the governor said. Yet the statement from the governor blaming the decline of print for the job losses also mentioned foreign competition—not Asian glass-screen manufacturers, but Canadian newsprint mills. It turns out that not even a 20.18 percent tariff on Canadian competitors was enough to keep the Maine mill open.