"The long-term growth in the world demand for newsprint is assured. No one can foretell the rate of expansion or the demand levels likely to be established in ten or twenty years. If the estimates for newsprint consumption given in Chapter V for the medium term are accepted, world demand should at least be 10 million tons by 1955. According to these estimates the regional distribution would be as follows:- North America, 5 millions tons; Europe 3 million tons; Latin America 600,000 tons; Asia 750,000 tons; Russia 300,000 tons; Oceania 250,000 tons; Africa and Near East 150,000 tons. A large speculative element attaches to these estimates, but insofar as they err they are likely to do so on the low side. In particular the conservative assumption made for North America may have to be modified. The significant point is that, on virtually any showing, the demand for newsprint in the medium term is certain to exceed both current world production at 8 million tons and existing world capacity estimated at 9 million tons a year. Full utilisation of idle newsprint capacity amounting to 1 million tons would probably end the present newsprint shortage. But it would be sanguine to expect that every ton of idle plant can, in fact, be used, or that 100 per cent capacity operations can be attained soon. The chances are that by the time production in the under-employed newsprint industries is raised to capacity, demand may also have risen. Although the world shortage of papermaking materials may be less serious than was at one time feared, local shortages are likely to persist, especially in regions where increasing demands for all classes of printing papers, generated by industrialisation, the spread of literacy and the growth in political consciousness, have stimulated the establishment of new pulp and paper industries." (Conclusion, page 110)