RUMFORD — The amount of paper sold during the second quarter of 2011 dropped by about 10 percent from the same period in 2010, but the overall dollar amount saw a decrease of about 2 percent system-wide for NewPage Corp.

Financial report issued Monday showed the number of tons sold from April 1 through June 30 was 774,000, compared with 868,000 tons in the second quarter of 2010, while net sales dropped from $890 million to $888 million.

Production was also down during the first half of the year as a result of the closure of the Whiting, Wisc., paper mill in early 2011.

At the same time, the cost for a ton of coated paper rose from $852 to $925.

According to the financial report issued from the Miamisburg, Ohio, central office of the paper company, price increases were the result of higher costs for wood, purchased pulp, chemicals and transportation.

However, while demand for coated paper products declined slightly, the demand for specialty products rose slightly.

Despite the lower production for 2011’s second quarter, no market-related downtime was taken. About 39,000 tons of downtime were taken during the second quarter of 2010.

Increased sales in coated paper is expected during the third quarter, July 31 through Sept. 30, because of the higher demand for catalogs and other retail products traditionally ordered during the upcoming season, according to the report.

One issue still up in the air related to the local Rumford mill is the closure on the sale of the Cogeneration and Consolidated Water Power Co. at the plant.

The sale to ReEnergy Holdings LLC, of Latham, N.Y., at a cost of $61 million was announced in March. At that time, local mill spokeswoman Janet Hall said the sale was not expected to impact employment.

Jay Epstein, vice president and chief financial officer, said in the report that the closure date on the sale is uncertain, and that the company is looking into options to address the unspecified conditions required to complete the sale.

NewPage owns paper mills in Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Nova Scotia as well as in Rumford where about 750 people are employed.