We want to thank Tracy Watson and Mona Anderson from NewPage  

  again for taking the time to visit us last month, we had a great meeting

  followed by a fun dinner.  You guys are second to none!

Domtar is pleased to announce that their entire line of uncoated free sheet papers will move to a new higher                        brightness standard.

The following products will be moving to the new brightness level. 

New products will be introduced as existing mill inventory is depleted.

All standard 84 bright copy will be moving to 92 bright.  This process will begin during September 2005.  High bright (88+) will move to 96 bright during October 2005.

All standard 84 bright offset will move to 92 bright along with Forms Bond and envelope.  All standard 92 bright opaque will move to 96 bright. This transition will begin October 2005.

We will advise you when samples are received!

 

  September — 2005

 

Labor Day Sept. 5th

 

 

Happy Birthday

September Babies

Susan Thompson-2nd

Barbara Shea –3rd

Karina Pirone-4th

Vicki Finch-7th

John Millar-27th

Drive

Carefully

Major producers announce $40/ton uncoated freesheet hike as market begins huge transition to higher

brightness paper. Weyerhaeuser, Domtar, Boise Paper & Georgia-Pacific last week informed North American customers of $40/ton price increases on cut-size copy paper, offset paper and a number of other grades effective with shipments Sept. 19th. according to industry contacts.  The announcements cover all brightness levels and in some cases include such grades as reply card, opaque and forms bond rolls.

The price increase appears to be driven by recent capacity closures, the traditional seasonal fall upturn in market demand, rising cost pressure, and reduction of inventories at the customer level.  North American producers have shut down a half dozen    machines with 640,000 tons of capacity since the beginning of the year amounting to 4.1% of industry capacity.

But whether the increase will trigger customer inventory rebuilding and stem recent price erosion remains to be seen.

As of last week the largest producer, International Paper, still had not informed customers of a price increase. Demand for    uncoated freesheet has also been weak, down 8.3% in July and 4.6% year-to-date compared with the same period a year ago, according to the latest American Forest & Paper Assn. statistics.  “This price increase is definitely supply and cost driven     because demand is not strong enough to justify it,” one observer noted.

 

Will the price increase succeed?  The transition to the new brightness standard may help chances for the price increase to  succeed by reducing the normal amount of pre-price increase inventory building.  “Customers will be reluctant to be stocking up before the increase on 84 brightness paper and their inventories are already low,” one contact suggested.  But one uncertainty is whether International Paper will support the price increase after  leading the higher brightness initiative and telling customers that the new improved paper would not necessarily cost more.  “IP may be in a somewhat awkward position after their        competitors went out and announced a price increase around them,” one source suggested.    Pulp&Paper Week 8/29/05