Wednesday, October 07, 2009

Pulp and Coated Publication Up, Containerboard Down

As Coy Paper reported earlier, the price of pulp continues to increase and all the majors are standing firm on their price increases and capacity slowdowns. Also, discounts are slowly being reduced.
Recently, the producers of groundwood containing coated publication papers are working with end users toward a reduction in discounts by as much as $60-$80/ton (must feel good after witnessing a decreased price level nearly every month so far in 2009). Demand increased better than 15% in September (vs. August) and the paper market for these grades are ‘only’ down 8% vs. this time last year.
Meanwhile, containerboard demand still remains somewhat weak and pricing remains under pressure. The real key in near term is will the big producers (International Paper and Smurfit) reduce capacity to control supply.

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