It's that time of the year again: millions of Yellow Pages directories are being shipped across the country.

Homes in major Canadian cities stopped receiving White Pages, which offers residential telephone listings, in 2010. But the Yellow Pages, which offers business listings, is still automatically delivered.

Fiona Story, senior public relations manager with the Yellow Pages Group, argues that there is still a place for the big yellow book.

"Print still answers a very specific need for certain markets," said Story.

She claimed about 50 per cent of Canadians use the Yellow Pages directory once a month, compared to White Pages, which she said declined to five per cent by 2010.

Story said people are less likely to keep a business's phone number in their smart phone. And usage is more common in rural areas where cell phone and mobile data isn't as readily available.

She also claimed that 50 to 75 per cent of businesses either don't have a website, or it's outdated.

Story said that the company distributes 16 million copies of the Yellow Pages across Canada, which includes businesses as well as residences.

The company does not keep track of how many copies are recycled.

Those who no longer want to receive a copy of the Yellow Pages can call 1-800-268-5637 to remove themselves from the delivery list.