Happy St. Patrick's Day

Excerpt from Brown’s       “Market Update”       2/17/09

The market was summed up by a major mill in one word…”BRUTAL”

 

The United States Postal Service announced an increase of 2 cents for a 1 ounce First-Class stamp effective May 11, 2009.  This will  undoubtedly have a negative impact on direct mail business.

 

In a recent statement, Barclays Capital analyst Peter Ruschmeier noted;  “The decline in January shipments for most paper grades was at least  double the rate of the worst decline in the past 39 years".

 

If AbitibiBowater’s subsidiary Abitibi-Consolidated is unable to solve their liquidity problems, refinancing, and or the restructuring of their loans, they may be forced into bankruptcy.

 

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Domtar to Idle Maine Pulp Mill in May

March 5, 2009 - Domtar today said that it will be idling its Woodland pulp mill in Baileyville, Maine for an undetermined period, as of May 5, 2009. The mill has an annual hardwood pulp production capacity of 398,000 air dry metric tons.

Approximately 300 employees will be affected by the shutdown, Domtar said.

"Current worldwide economic conditions with weaker global demand for pulp, historically high inventory levels and depressed prices make it extremely challenging for northern hardwood pulp mills to compete," said John D. Williams, president and CEO of Domtar. "With no immediate recovery in sight, we must temporarily reduce our pulp manufacturing capacity."

Domtar said that it is committed to working with Maine State Governor, John E. Baldacci, and  his administration, to explore steps that can be taken to mitigate the impact of this announcement. 

SOURCE: Domtar

March 3, 2008 - Smart Papers today said that it has sold its premium uncoated writing, text and cover brands to Mohawk Fine Papers.

 

The deal includes SMART's Carnival, Passport, Genesis, Synergy, Pegasus, Magna Carta, Solutions, Feltweave, Nekoosa, Proterra, Skytone, and the company's Brights brands..

 

In addition, Mohawk will become the exclusive marketer for SMART’s Kromekote, Knightkote Matte and SMART Digital        premium coated papers.

 

SMART said it will work closely with Mohawk to transition manufacturing and sales of all uncoated products over the next 30days

 

Mohawk will begin selling Kromekote and Knightkote Matte to traditional paper distribution markets after the transition period, SMART said..

 

SMART Papers will continue to manufacture Kromekote and Knightkote brands in its Hamilton, Ohio facility and will also        continue to sell to strategic accounts worldwide.

 

SMART Papers also said that it will idle two uncoated paper machines at its Hamilton, OH paper mill. The company did not       disclose specific details about the idling of the machines.

 

SOURCE: Mohawk Fine Papers Inc.

Spring Arrives  - March 20th