Wisconsin’s paper industry: where paper is made and how it moves 

Originally published by Mikayla Josefchuk, July 2024

Wisconsin has made paper for more than 175 years, and it is still the top paper-producing state in the country, according to the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC). The industry’s center is the Fox River Valley, where paper mills, converters, and packaging plants operate within a short drive of each other, and where pulp, paper rolls, and finished goods move every day by rail and truck. Here’s where paper mills in Wisconsin are concentrated, how the industry is changing, and how its products get to market.

Where paper mills in Wisconsin are concentrated

Wisconsin’s paper industry grew up along its rivers. Early mills needed water power to run their machinery and large volumes of clean water for papermaking, and the state’s forests supplied the wood pulp that replaced rags and straw as the industry’s main raw material by about 1890. Those river corridors still shape where paper mills in Wisconsin are located today.

From its start in southeastern Wisconsin in the 1850s, the paper industry quickly moved north to the Fox River Valley in northeastern Wisconsin. The Fox River Valley region, dubbed the Paper Valley, stretches from Green Bay in the northeast to Oshkosh in the southwest part of Wisconsin. Appleton made its first paper in 1848, and by the 1870s it had one of the highest concentrations of paper mills in the world. Today, the stretch from Neenah and Appleton through Kaukauna, De Pere, and Green Bay is still the state’s largest paper cluster, with tissue, packaging, and specialty paper mills operating alongside many of the converters that turn mill rolls into finished products.

How the Wisconsin paper industry is changing

The Wisconsin paper industry has weathered many changes over the last 30 years, reflective of national industry trends, with a number of shifts and closures of paper mills and other facilities, according to a 2022 study by the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh’s Center for Customized Research and the Wisconsin Paper Council. Ownership changes and industry consolidation have contributed to moves of headquarters out of state and closures, including a number of Wisconsin-based privately held, family-owned businesses.  

In recent years, foreign direct investment in U.S. businesses has increased with several European organizations bringing new ownership of paper businesses and capital into the state. Ecommerce has also propelled growth in packaging materials, including corrugated board and paper mailers.

That shift toward packaging matches national trends. U.S. paper and paperboard production fell 3.7% in 2025 to 66.3 million tons, according to the American Forest & Paper Association (AF&PA). Containerboard, the material used to make corrugated boxes, still accounts for more than half of U.S. paper and paperboard capacity, with 36.1 million tons produced in 2025. Printing and writing paper capacity, meanwhile, has fallen from nearly 18 million tons in 2015 to 7.7 million tons.

Even with closures and consolidation, Wisconsin remains the top U.S. state for paper production, and its industry employment concentration is nearly four times the national average, according to WEDC. WEDC puts the number of paper mills in Wisconsin at 35. Those mills sit alongside hundreds of converters that turn mill rolls into packaging, tissue, labels, and printed products.

Wisconsin’s broader forest products industry, which includes forestry, pulp and paper, and wood products, supports nearly 50,000 jobs and more than $20 billion in annual sales, according to WEDC’s 2026 Forest Products Snapshot. Paper mills account for more than 7,000 of those jobs, and sanitary paper makers for more than 3,000.

 How paper moves: rail and truck logistics

Rail, truck, barge or ship are the most common forms of transport for pulp and paper products with rail the most common for hauling large quantities over long distances efficiently.   

Rail transportation plays a primary role in the supply chain for paper commodities and products, connecting forests, mills and paper production facilities across the country. Packaging grades lean on rail in particular: roughly 60% of containerboard is shipped by rail, according to the Association of Independent Corrugated Converters (AICC). Rail shipments include raw materials such as pulp and chemicals, partially finished products like paperboard and wood pellets, and finished products such as newsprint, which is transported in large rolls, office paper and specialty papers, paperboard and corrugated.  

Types of shipments transported on rail include wood chips for pulp production (often transported in open-top railcars), pulp (covered hopper cars or specialized railcars designed for bulk handling), recycled paper in baled form as well as chemicals and additives used in paper production. 

Not every mill or converter has its own rail spur. Transloading, the transfer of product between railcar and truck at a rail-served warehouse, lets shippers move volume by rail over long distances and finish the trip by truck. Timing matters on the receiving end, too: railroads charge demurrage when cars are held beyond their allotted free time, so how quickly cars get unloaded affects what a rail shipment actually costs.

What’s next for Wisconsin’s paper industry

The legacy of papermaking continues to shape the economic and cultural landscape of a number of Wisconsin communities. While the Wisconsin paper industry has seen decline in recent decades, the industry has diversified and there are bright spots of growth, such as corrugated and specialty papers.  

The Wisconsin paper industry is one in transition. Its future, in part, is dependent on both innovation and sustainability, noted the 2022 study by the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh and the Wisconsin Paper Council.  

The industry has largely moved away from many pollutive practices, and paper is one of many sectors that is recognized for its sustainability. Paper-recycling facilities contribute to the sustainability of the paper industry. Wisconsin leads the country in the production of pre- and post-consumer recycled paper. As for innovation, it must come in the form of new products and investments in new equipment and automation technologies.   

 The development of improved rail and intermodal infrastructure, though slow in the making given the magnitude of collaboration and capital required, will also support sustainability and innovation. 

Frequently asked questions about Wisconsin’s paper industry

Q: How many paper mills are in Wisconsin?

A: The Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation puts the number of paper mills in Wisconsin at 35. The state also has more than 200 companies in pulp and paper converting, which turn mill output into packaging, tissue, and other finished products.

Q: Which state produces the most paper?

A: Wisconsin is the top paper-producing state in the U.S., according to WEDC, with paper industry employment concentrated at nearly four times the national average.

Q: How is paper shipped?

A: Pulp and paper move by rail, truck, barge, and ship. Rail is common for large volumes over long distances, and roughly 60% of containerboard ships by rail, according to AICC. Transloading at rail-served warehouses connects rail shipments to truck delivery for customers without their own rail access.