compared with $ 6.2 billion in 2013 . operating profits in 2015 were significantly higher than in both 2014 and 2013 . excluding facility closure costs , impairment costs and other special items , operating profits in 2015 were 3% ( 3 % ) lower than in 2014 and 4% ( 4 % ) higher than in 2013 . benefits from lower input costs ( $ 18 million ) , lower costs associated with the closure of our courtland , alabama mill ( $ 44 million ) and favorable foreign exchange ( $ 33 million ) were offset by lower average sales price realizations and mix ( $ 52 million ) , lower sales volumes ( $ 16 million ) , higher operating costs ( $ 18 million ) and higher planned maintenance downtime costs ( $ 26 million ) . in addition , operating profits in 2014 include special items costs of $ 554 million associated with the closure of our courtland , alabama mill . during 2013 , the company accelerated depreciation for certain courtland assets , and evaluated certain other assets for possible alternative uses by one of our other businesses . the net book value of these assets at december 31 , 2013 was approximately $ 470 million . in the first quarter of 2014 , we completed our evaluation and concluded that there were no alternative uses for these assets . we recognized approximately $ 464 million of accelerated depreciation related to these assets in 2014 . operating profits in 2014 also include a charge of $ 32 million associated with a foreign tax amnesty program , and a gain of $ 20 million for the resolution of a legal contingency in india , while operating profits in 2013 included costs of $ 118 million associated with the announced closure of our courtland , alabama mill and a $ 123 million impairment charge associated with goodwill and a trade name intangible asset in our india papers business . printing papers .
what was the percentage change in operating profits in 2015
north american printing papers net sales were $ 1.9 billion in 2015 , $ 2.1 billion in 2014 and $ 2.6 billion in 2013 . operating profits in 2015 were $ 179 million compared with a loss of $ 398 million ( a gain of $ 156 million excluding costs associated with the shutdown of our courtland , alabama mill ) in 2014 and a gain of $ 36 million ( $ 154 million excluding costs associated with the courtland mill shutdown ) in 2013 . sales volumes in 2015 decreased compared with 2014 primarily due to the closure of our courtland mill in 2014 . shipments to the domestic market increased , but export shipments declined . average sales price realizations decreased , primarily in the domestic market . input costs were lower , mainly for energy . planned maintenance downtime costs were $ 12 million higher in 2015 . operating profits in 2014 were negatively impacted by costs associated with the shutdown of our courtland , alabama mill . entering the first quarter of 2016 , sales volumes are expected to be up slightly compared with the fourth quarter of 2015 . average sales margins should be about flat reflecting lower average sales price realizations offset by a more favorable product mix . input costs are expected to be stable . planned maintenance downtime costs are expected to be about $ 14 million lower with an outage scheduled in the 2016 first quarter at our georgetown mill compared with outages at our eastover and riverdale mills in the 2015 fourth quarter . in january 2015 , the united steelworkers , domtar corporation , packaging corporation of america , finch paper llc and p . h . glatfelter company ( the petitioners ) filed an anti-dumping petition before the united states international trade commission ( itc ) and the united states department of commerce ( doc ) alleging that paper producers in china , indonesia , australia , brazil , and portugal are selling uncoated free sheet paper in sheet form ( the products ) in violation of international trade rules . the petitioners also filed a countervailing-duties petition with these agencies regarding imports of the products from china and indonesia . in january 2016 , the doc announced its final countervailing duty rates on imports of the products to the united states from certain producers from china and indonesia . also , in january 2016 , the doc announced its final anti-dumping duty rates on imports of the products to the united states from certain producers from australia , brazil , china , indonesia and portugal . in february 2016 , the itc concluded its anti- dumping and countervailing duties investigations and made a final determination that the u.s . market had been injured by imports of the products . accordingly , the doc 2019s previously announced countervailing duty rates and anti-dumping duty rates will be in effect for a minimum of five years . we do not believe the impact of these rates will have a material , adverse effect on our consolidated financial statements . brazilian papers net sales for 2015 were $ 878 million compared with $ 1.1 billion in 2014 and $ 1.1 billion in 2013 . operating profits for 2015 were $ 186 million compared with $ 177 million ( $ 209 million excluding costs associated with a tax amnesty program ) in 2014 and $ 210 million in 2013 . sales volumes in 2015 were lower compared with 2014 reflecting weak economic conditions and the absence of 2014 one-time events . average sales price realizations improved for domestic uncoated freesheet paper due to the realization of price increases implemented in the second half of 2015 . margins were unfavorably affected by an increased proportion of sales to the lower-margin export markets . raw material costs increased for energy and wood . operating costs were higher than in 2014 , while planned maintenance downtime costs were $ 4 million lower. .