Coated Mill takes Down Time

UPM announced it would shutdown at its Miramichi, Canada mill in February for three months. The mill produces about 450,000TPA of magazine paper. This to be about 7% of North American Capacity, based on about 6.3MM tons of LWC (magazine paper) capacity in North America. Since winter tends to be seasonally slow, this closure should help market sentiment and will probably “support” pricing at a seasonal low-point. UPM cites a high cost structure at the mill, likely a result of high-energy costs as well as a strong Canadian dollar.
Of particular note, you may recall UPM recently settled a 7 month strike at this mill.
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