Divestitures/Spinoff (Note)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2015

Discontinued Operations and Disposal Groups [Abstract]

Businesses Held For Sale, Divestitures And Impairments [Note Text Block]

DISCONTINUED OPERATIONS

2014: On July 1, 2014, International Paper completed the spinoff of its distribution business, xpedx, which subsequently merged with Unisource Worldwide, Inc., with the combined companies now operating as Veritiv Corporation (Veritiv). The xpedx business had historically represented the Company's Distribution reportable segment.

The spinoff was accomplished by the contribution of the xpedx business to Veritiv and the distribution of 8,160,000 shares of Veritiv common stock on a pro-rata basis to International Paper shareholders. International Paper received a payment of approximately $411 million, financed with new debt in Veritiv's capital structure.

All current and historical operating results for xpedx are included in Discontinued operations, net of tax, in the accompanying consolidated statement of operations. The following summarizes the major classes of line items comprising Earnings (Loss) Before Income Taxes and Equity Earnings reconciled to Discontinued Operations, net of tax, related to the xpedx spinoff for all periods presented in the consolidated statement of operations:

In millions	2014			2013
Net Sales	$	2,604		$	5,597
Costs and Expenses
Cost of products sold	2,309			4,941
Selling and administrative expenses	191			409
Depreciation, amortization and cost of timber harvested	9			16
Distribution expenses	69			149
Restructuring and other charges	25			54
Impairment of goodwill and other intangibles	—			400
Other, net	3			7
Earnings (Loss) Before Income Taxes and Equity Earnings	(2		)	(379		)
Income tax provision (benefit)	(1		)	(25		)
Discontinued Operations, Net of Taxes (a)	$	(1	)	$	(354	)

(a) These amounts, along with those disclosed below related to the Temple-Inland Building Products divestitures, are included in Discontinued operations, net of tax, in the consolidated statement of operations.

Total cash provided by operations related to xpedx of $29 million and $81 million for 2014 and 2013, respectively, is included in Cash Provided By (Used For) Operations in the consolidated statement of cash flows. Total cash provided by (used for) investing activities related to xpedx of $3 million and $12 million for 2014 and 2013, respectively, is included in Cash Provided By (Used For) Investing Activities in the consolidated statement of cash flows.

2013: On April 1, 2013, the Company finalized the sale of Temple-Inland's 50% interest in Del-Tin Fiber L.L.C. to joint venture partner Deltic Timber Corporation for $20 million in assumed liabilities and cash.

On July 19, 2013 the Company finalized the sale of its Temple-Inland Building Products division to Georgia-Pacific Building Products, LLC for approximately $726 million in cash.

Related to these divestitures, the Company recorded income (loss) of $0 million, $(12) million and $45 million for the years ended December 31, 2015, 2014 and 2013, respectively. These amounts are included in Discontinued operations, net of tax in the consolidated statement of operations.

OTHER DIVESTITURES AND IMPAIRMENTS

2015: On October 13, 2015, the Company finalized the sale of its 55% interest in IP Asia Coated Paperboard (IP-Sun JV) business, within the Company's Consumer Packaging segment, to its Chinese coated board joint venture partner, Shandong Sun Holding Group Co., Ltd. for RMB 149 million (approximately USD $23 million). During the third quarter of 2015, a determination was made that the current book value of the asset group exceeded its estimated fair value of $23 million, which was the agreed upon selling price. The 2015 loss includes the net pre-tax impairment charge of $174 million ($113 million after taxes). A pre-tax charge of $186 million was recorded during the third quarter in the Company's Consumer Packaging segment to write down the long-lived assets of this business to their estimated fair value. In the fourth quarter of 2015, upon the sale and corresponding deconsolidation of IP-Sun JV from the Company's consolidated balance sheet, final adjustments were made resulting in a reduction of the impairment of $12 million. The amount of pre-tax losses related to noncontrolling interest of the IP-Sun JV included in the Company's consolidated statement of operations for the years ended December 31, 2015, 2014 and 2013 were $19 million, $12 million and $8 million, respectively. The amount of pre-tax losses related to the IP-Sun JV included in the Company's consolidated statement of operations for the years ended December 31, 2015, 2014 and 2013 were $226 million, $51 million and $41 million, respectively.

The net 2015 loss totaling $174 million related to the impairment of Sun-JV is included in Net (gains) losses on sales and impairments of businesses in the accompanying consolidated statement of operations.

2014: During 2014, the Company recorded a net pre-tax charge of $47 million ($36 million after taxes) for the loss on the sale of a business by our equity method investee, ASG (formerly referred to as AGI-Shorewood), and the subsequent partial impairment of this ASG investment.

The net 2014 loss totaling $38 million, including the ASG impairment discussed above, related to other divestitures and impairments is included in Net (gains) losses on sales and impairments of businesses in the accompanying consolidated statement of operations.

2013: During 2013, the Company recorded net pre-tax charges of $3 million ($1 million after taxes) for adjustments related to the divestiture of three containerboard mills in 2012 and the sale of the Shorewood business. This loss is included in Net (gains) losses on sales and impairments of businesses in the accompanying consolidated statement of operations.