printing papers net sales for 2006 decreased 3% ( 3 % ) from both 2005 and 2004 due principally to the sale of the u.s . coated papers business in august 2006 . however , operating profits in 2006 were 43% ( 43 % ) higher than in 2005 and 33% ( 33 % ) higher than in 2004 . compared with 2005 , earnings improved for u.s . uncoated papers , market pulp and european papers , but this was partially offset by earnings declines in brazilian papers . benefits from higher average sales price realizations in the united states , europe and brazil ( $ 284 million ) , improved manufacturing operations ( $ 73 million ) , reduced lack-of-order downtime ( $ 41 million ) , higher sales volumes in europe ( $ 23 million ) , and other items ( $ 65 million ) were partially offset by higher raw material and energy costs ( $ 109 million ) , higher freight costs ( $ 45 million ) and an impairment charge to reduce the carrying value of the fixed assets at the saillat , france mill ( $ 128 million ) . compared with 2004 , higher earnings in 2006 in the u.s . uncoated papers , market pulp and coated papers businesses were offset by lower earn- ings in the european and brazilian papers busi- nesses . the printing papers segment took 555000 tons of downtime in 2006 , including 150000 tons of lack-of-order downtime to align production with customer demand . this compared with 970000 tons of total downtime in 2005 , of which 520000 tons related to lack-of-orders . printing papers in millions 2006 2005 2004 .
what was the profit margin of printing papers in 2005
u.s . uncoated papers net sales in 2006 were $ 3.5 billion , compared with $ 3.2 billion in 2005 and $ 3.3 billion in 2004 . sales volumes increased in 2006 over 2005 , particularly in cut-size paper and printing papers . average sales price realizations increased significantly , reflecting benefits from price increases announced in late 2005 and early 2006 . lack-of-order downtime declined from 450000 tons in 2005 to 40000 tons in 2006 , reflecting firm market demand and the impact of the permanent closure of three uncoated freesheet machines in 2005 . operating earnings in 2006 more than doubled compared with both 2005 and 2004 . the benefits of improved aver- age sales price realizations more than offset higher input costs for freight , wood and energy , which were all above 2005 levels . mill operations were favorable compared with 2005 due to current-year improve- ments in machine performance , lower labor , chem- ical and energy consumption costs , as well as approximately $ 30 million of charges incurred in 2005 for machine shutdowns . u.s . coated papers net sales were $ 920 million in 2006 , $ 1.6 billion in 2005 and $ 1.4 billion in 2004 . operating profits in 2006 were 26% ( 26 % ) lower than in 2005 . a small operating loss was reported for the business in 2004 . this business was sold in the third quarter of 2006 . during the first two quarters of 2006 , sales volumes were up slightly versus 2005 . average sales price realizations for coated freesheet paper and coated groundwood paper were higher than in 2005 , reflecting the impact of previously announced price increases . however , input costs for energy , wood and other raw materials increased over 2005 levels . manufacturing operations were favorable due to higher machine efficiency and mill cost savings . u.s . market pulp sales in 2006 were $ 509 mil- lion , compared with $ 526 million and $ 437 million in 2005 and 2004 , respectively . sales volumes in 2006 were down from 2005 levels , primarily for paper and tissue pulp . average sales price realizations were higher in 2006 , reflecting higher average prices for fluff pulp and bleached hardwood and softwood pulp . operating earnings increased 30% ( 30 % ) from 2005 and more than 100% ( 100 % ) from 2004 principally due to the impact of the higher average sales prices . input costs for wood and energy were higher in 2006 than in 2005 . manufacturing operations were unfavorable , driven primarily by poor operations at our riegel- wood , north carolina mill . brazil ian paper net sales for 2006 of $ 496 mil- lion were higher than the $ 465 million in 2005 and the $ 417 million in 2004 . the sales increase in 2006 reflects higher sales volumes than in 2005 , partic- ularly for uncoated freesheet paper , and a strengthening of the brazilian currency versus the u.s . dollar . average sales price realizations improved in 2006 , primarily for uncoated freesheet paper and wood chips . despite higher net sales , operating profits for 2006 of $ 122 million were down from $ 134 million in 2005 and $ 166 million in 2004 , due principally to incremental costs associated with an extended mill outage in mogi guacu to convert to an elemental-chlorine-free bleaching process , to rebuild the primary recovery boiler , and for other environmental upgrades . european papers net sales in 2006 were $ 1.5 bil- lion , compared with $ 1.4 billion in 2005 and $ 1.5 bil- lion in 2004 . sales volumes in 2006 were higher than in 2005 at our eastern european mills due to stron- ger market demand . average sales price realizations increased in 2006 in both eastern and western european markets . operating earnings in 2006 rose 20% ( 20 % ) from 2005 , but were 15% ( 15 % ) below 2004 levels . the improvement in 2006 compared with 2005 .