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 .
what is the average value of interest expense net , in millions?
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 .