Time to turn to the “NewPage”  in the paper industry!

MeadWestvaco Papers Group is now NewPage 

“New”  - refers to a new attitude & a new commitment to the business, and new solutions for the needs of their customers.

“Page” - represents the fact that paper is now THE core business, and NewPage has the opportunity to operate as a focused and independent corporation. 

Producers hope to push through spring price hikes on printing/writing papers despite downward shipments After last year’s strong performance, the North American printing/writing paper market is off to a weak start in 2005.  North American shipments of printing/writing paper in February declined 2.3% from a year earlier, resulting in a 0.8% decline year to date, according to the Pulp and Paper Products Council.  Analyst Mark Wilde of Deutsche Bank Securities  called the downward trend in shipments since last November “disturbing.”  The main reasons for the weakness were a drop in un coated freesheet demand plus a high level of coated paper imports, which replaced North American mill shipments.  But total demand for printing/writing paper (including imports) was flat in February and up 1.6% year-to-date.

 

Will uncoated hike stick? Shipment volume in the current March may be helped by the $60/ton ($3/cwt) price increase  announced by major  producers on cut-size copy paper, offset and related grades, scheduled to take effect by April.

Producers are expected to implement at least part of the announced increase partly due to customer inventory building, but this could lead to weaker demand in April or May, according to one Northeast merchant.  “We have enough paper on our floor to last until May,” he said.   Among various grades of uncoated freesheet, U.S. mill shipments for the first two months of 2005 were down 4.6% for cut-size copy paper, 3.2% for offset, 4.3% for envelope and 6.0% for forms bond compared with a year ago, according to American Forest & Paper Assn. statistics.  U.S. mill inventories of uncoated freesheet rose 12,500 tons in February to end the month at 1.35 million tons, slightly exceeding the previous peak in mid—2004.

 

Pulp&Paper Week March 28, 2005

 

www.brownpaper.com

  April—2005