item 7 .management 2019s discussion and analysis of financial condition and results of operations executive summary international paper company reported net sales of $ 23.4 billion in 2009 , compared with $ 24.8 billion in 2008 and $ 21.9 billion in 2007 .net earnings totaled $ 663 million in 2009 , including $ 1.4 billion of alter- native fuel mixture credits and $ 853 million of charges to restructure ongoing businesses , com- pared with a loss of $ 1.3 billion in 2008 , which included a $ 1.8 billion goodwill impairment charge .net earnings in 2007 totaled $ 1.2 billion .the company performed well in 2009 considering the magnitude of the challenges it faced , both domestically and around the world .despite weak global economic conditions , the company generated record cash flow from operations , enabling us to reduce long-term debt by $ 3.1 billion while increas- ing cash balances by approximately $ 800 million .also during 2009 , the company incurred 3.6 million tons of downtime , including 1.1 million tons asso- ciated with the shutdown of production capacity in our north american mill system to continue to match our production to our customers 2019 needs .these actions should result in higher operating rates , lower fixed costs and lower payroll costs in 2010 and beyond .furthermore , the realization of integration synergies in our u.s .industrial packaging business and overhead reduction initiatives across the com- pany position international paper to benefit from a lower cost profile in future years .as 2010 begins , we expect that first-quarter oper- ations will continue to be challenging .in addition to being a seasonally slow quarter for many of our businesses , poor harvesting weather conditions in the u.s .south and increasing competition for lim- ited supplies of recycled fiber are expected to lead to further increases in fiber costs for our u.s .mills .planned maintenance outage expenses will also be higher than in the 2009 fourth quarter .however , we have announced product price increases for our major global manufacturing businesses , and while these actions may not have a significant effect on first-quarter results , we believe that the benefits beginning in the second quarter will be significant .additionally , we expect to benefit from the capacity management , cost reduction and integration synergy actions taken during 2009 .as a result , the company remains positive about projected operating results in 2010 , with improved earnings versus 2009 expected in all major businesses .we will continue to focus on aggressive cost management and strong cash flow generation as 2010 progresses .results of operations industry segment operating profits are used by inter- national paper 2019s management to measure the earn- ings performance of its businesses .management believes that this measure allows a better under- standing of trends in costs , operating efficiencies , prices and volumes .industry segment operating profits are defined as earnings before taxes , equity earnings , noncontrolling interests , interest expense , corporate items and corporate special items .industry segment operating profits are defined by the securities and exchange commission as a non-gaap financial measure , and are not gaap alternatives to net income or any other operating measure prescribed by accounting principles gen- erally accepted in the united states .international paper operates in six segments : industrial packaging , printing papers , consumer packaging , distribution , forest products , and spe- cialty businesses and other .the following table shows the components of net earnings ( loss ) attributable to international paper company for each of the last three years : in millions 2009 2008 2007 .
[['in millions', '2009', '2008', '2007'], ['industry segment operating profits', '$ 2360', '$ 1393', '$ 1897'], ['corporate items net', '-181 ( 181 )', '-103 ( 103 )', '-206 ( 206 )'], ['corporate special items*', '-334 ( 334 )', '-1949 ( 1949 )', '241'], ['interest expense net', '-669 ( 669 )', '-492 ( 492 )', '-297 ( 297 )'], ['noncontrolling interests', '5', '-5 ( 5 )', '-5 ( 5 )'], ['income tax provision', '-469 ( 469 )', '-162 ( 162 )', '-415 ( 415 )'], ['equity ( loss ) earnings', '-49 ( 49 )', '49', '2013'], ['discontinued operations', '2013', '-13 ( 13 )', '-47 ( 47 )'], ['net earnings ( loss ) attributable to international paper company', '$ 663', '$ -1282 ( 1282 )', '$ 1168']]
net earnings ( loss ) attributable to international paper company $ 663 $ ( 1282 ) $ 1168 * corporate special items include restructuring and other charg- es , goodwill impairment charges , gains on transformation plan forestland sales and net losses ( gains ) on sales and impairments of businesses .industry segment operating profits of $ 2.4 billion were $ 967 million higher in 2009 than in 2008 .oper- ating profits benefited from lower energy and raw material costs ( $ 447 million ) , lower distribution costs ( $ 142 million ) , favorable manufacturing operating costs ( $ 481 million ) , incremental earnings from the cbpr business acquired in the third quarter of 2008 ( $ 202 million ) , and other items ( $ 35 million ) , offset by lower average sales price realizations ( $ 444 million ) , lower sales volumes and increased lack-of-order downtime ( $ 684 million ) , unfavorable .

Question: what is the average value of interest expense net , in millions?
Answer: -486
Explanation: it is the sum of all values divided by three .