Thursday, April 12, 2007

Uncoated Freesheet Market update this week

Most are forecasting the uncoated paper market to improve and prices to increase; however, there still remains a population that thinks differently.
Industry consolidation and closing over 1.5million tons of production since 2005 are leading to a stronger market. Limited growth in capacity (or demand) is forecasted through this year. Poor financial results, sluggish demand, over capacity, high energy, transportation and pulp costs have all plagued the uncoated market. American uncoated freesheet demand declined from its high in 2000. Demand declined 1.5% in 2006 (vs. 2005) falling to 12 million tons while imports enjoyed a 24% increase to 550,000 tons. Imports only account for 5% of USA demand, however, they continue to cannibalize domestic producer’s output. Further concerns may result from the postal increase – which will hurt direct mail campaigns.
Paper.com has all your uncoated papers - from commodity grades to very exotic handmade papers. The site now has over 35,000 items.

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