Research Reveals Young Adults Read More Magazines, Not Less

MediaDailyNews - At a time when many assume that younger, tech-savvy people are turning their backs on print media, a highly regarded researcher has come up with evidence that young adults actually read more consumer magazines than older folks. The discovery is the result of new methodological research developed by McPheters & Co. to identify better ways of collecting information on the household incomes of magazine readers. "While analyzing data from the new test, it became apparent that younger readers reported reading more magazines than older readers," the company said.

Wood pulp near 22-year highs

North American wood pulp prices are closing in on their previous peaks set in the spring of 1995. Parsons & Whittemore, of Rye Brook, N.Y., plans to boost sales prices by $20/metric ton to $705 in June for southern bleached hardwood kraft (SBHK) pulp. Meanwhile, Tembec of Montreal and Pope & Talbot of Portland, Ore., have announced a $20 price increase to $830 for their northern bleached softwood (NBSK) grades.
Although a bit softer than USA market, hardwood markets are benefiting from reduced wood supply in Northern Europe. In
Europe, a strong Euro has allowed NA pulp producers to raise their export prices with little resistance from customers. Seasonal maintenance downtime has led to reduced inventories while some producers are speculating about a potential price hike in June.
Certain paper products are in strong demand so production of softwood and hardwood pulp has held fairly strong. One reason is that past lumber mill shutdowns have created a shortage of softwood pulp in some regions. And, as papermakers turn to more hardwood pulp for mixing, those prices also firm.

Coated Market Appears Strong

Producers of coated Freesheet Papers have announced $50/ton price hikes effective immediately. The biggest driver is duties on Asian imports, which are limiting supply. Preliminary countervailing duties on Chinese, Indonesian and Korean imports are 18%, 21% and 2%, respectively. The next step is a Commerce Department ruling on antidumping duties, due out on
May 29th. Domestic shipments rose 10% in February ahead of possible duties on Asian imports. The coated Market has plateaued over the past six months.

Some Paper markets are showing signs of a rebound in demand.

Demand in most markets has fallen from last year’s figures. The supply reductions from shuttered equipment and a weak US Dollar have held pricing relatively steady for Printing and Writing grades.
Virtually all corrugated box producers are reporting stronger volumes. Demand is strong in most offshore markets, particularly in Asian and Europe. Strong overseas demand coupled with a weak US dollar is clearly assisting many domestic paper mills

Forestweb May Pulp and Paper Price Indices Reflect Price Activity in Cut

Forestweb's monthly indices for pulp and paper reflect the price activity in pulp, packaging, and printing/writing
markets since the release of the prior report in April. The May indices indicate prices for communication papers rose, pulp and packaging remained steady, and publishing papers declined.
Forestweb's North American Communications Papers Index, static for the prior three months, increased 1.93%, reflecting rising prices in the cutsize free sheet market. The North American Publishing Papers Index declined for the tenth consecutive month indicating continuing price erosion in the mechanical publishing paper sector. Forestweb's North American Packaging Index remained unchanged for the fifth consecutive month. The North American Pulp Index was unchanged from April after new softwood prices were implemented earlier and hardwood prices were mostly steady.

International Paper stops Paper Production at Pensacola mill

As reported in past, International Paper has finally stopped manufacturing uncoated freesheet (UFS) on PM No. 5 at its Cantonment mill in Pensacola, Fl. last week, and has begun the process of converting the 350,000 tons/yr machine
to lightweight unbleached kraft linerboard. The conversion is expected to last throughout the summer and should be
completed by the third quarter.