Yearly Archives: 2017
Klabin’s Puma mill operating at full (100%) capacity
(Brazil, April 28, 2017) Klabin’s 1.5 million tonne/yr (BEK) Puma pulp mill in Brazil has reached 100% capacity, CEO Fabio Schvartsman announced at the company’s Q1 2017 Financial Report & Conference Call dated April 28, 2017.
The new unit has the capacity to produce 1.5 million tons of pulp a year, of which 1.1 million tons will be hardwood pulp and 400,000 tons softwood pulp. A portion of the softwood pulp will be converted into fluff pulp, the only one Read More...
Recovered paper market – Q1 review: market hit by freight hikes / increased stocks
(Brussels, April 26, 2017) While recovered paper grades posted a relatively strong quarter, prices of lower grades of recovered fiber were negatively impacted by escalating freight costs, cheaper pockets of global availability, high levels of finished stock and possible compliance concerns relating to increased port inspections in China,
as per the latest BIR world recycling organisation’s latest quarterly World Mirror on Recovered Paper.
Feedback from the UK - by far Europe’s largest exporter of recovered fibre - suggests deep-sea export prices Read More...
The rise and fall of recycled content in newsprint
(Montreal, Canada, May 08, 2017) In March 2017 the newsprint mill in Thorold, Ontario was indefinitely idled. Ontario Paper Company started up this mill in 1913 and was a pioneer in the field of recycled furnish, having experimented with it briefly during World War II to extend its pulp supply. It had the first deinking plant in North America in 1981 and expanded to 100% recycled furnish in 2002.
Around that time, there were seven other newsprint mills running a Read More...
Fibria recorded 1Q net income of R$ 329 million; net revenue decreased
(Brazil, May 09, 2017) Fibria recorded net income of R$ 329 million ($102.8 million) in 1Q 2017, versus a net loss of R$ 92 million ($28.75 million) in 4Q 2016 and net income of R$ 978 million ($305.6 million) in 1Q 2016.
Fibria’s net revenue totalled R$ 2,074 million ($648 million) in 1Q 2017, 18% less than in 4Q 2016, due to the reduction in sales volume, as previously explained. Compared to 1Q 2016, net revenue fell by 13%, as Read More...
Chinese firm Tranlin (aka Vastly) delays $2 billion pulp and paper mill in Virginia, USA
(Chesterfield, Virginia, USA, May 03, 2017) A $2 billion paper mill planned for eastern Chesterfield County in Virginia will be delayed as the Chinese-owned company incorporates new technology overseas. The Chesterfield mill was originally expected to be “fully operational” by 2020.
The company, Tranlin Inc., also known as Vastly, said that its parent firm Shandong Tranlin Paper Company Ltd., will be “redeploying resources” as it incorporates the new technology. However, the company has not announced a revised timeline.
The current Read More...
Brazilian pulp exports in Q1/17 totaled 3.3MT, up 5.5% YoY, according to Ibá; pulp production also up
(Brazil, May 03, 2017) Pulp production recorded 3.0% growth in the first quarter of 2017, totaling 4.69 million tons against the 4.55 million tons recorded in the same period of last year. In the paper sector, the surplus continues with exports that reached a volume of 544 thousand tons sold between January and March, a 5.6% increase compared to the same period in 2016 when 515 thousand tons were traded. In the wood panels segment domestic sales rose 2.9%, Read More...
1Q/17 Global HW Pulp Market Review: Growth of 338K t in global demand for BEKP (Feb/17 vs. Feb/16); demand supports price hikes
(Sao Paulo, Brazil, April 28, 2017) This year began on a more positive note for the pulp market. The increase in demand was confirmed by the decline in inventories of hardwood to 37 days, according to the PPPC’s Global 100 Report, and a year-on-year upturn in eucalyptus pulp shipments, mainly to Asia. The positive fundamentals allowed Fibria to announce new price increases [valid as of April 01] of
• US$20/t for Europe and North America in January;
• US$30/t for all Read More...
Pulp firm Mercer reviews Q1/17 market: “steady rise in Q1 pulp prices; strong demand”
(Calgary, Canada, April 28, 2017) "In term of the pulp markets, demand has been strong through April. Prices have risen steadily in China in Q1 to the point that our March list price was $670 per ton, up $70 from September or up $100 since November of 2016."
[Extracts from Q1 2017 Financial Report & Conference Call dated April 28, 2017] Mr. David M. Gandossi – Chief Executive Officer, Mercer International, discusses the Q1/17 pulp & paper market and the Read More...
Andritz starts up twelfth tissue machine for Hengan Group
(Graz, Austria, May 05, 2017) Andritz has successfully started up the tissue machine supplied to the Hengan Group, China, at its Chongqing mill.
The PrimeLineTM W8 tissue machine is the twelfth tissue machine supplied by Andritz to the Hengan Group. It has a design speed of 2,000 m/min and a width of 5.6 m. The machine is equipped with an 18-foot steel Yankee for energy-efficient drying and safe operation. The scope of supply also included the complete stock preparation plant Read More...
Market conditions (tight supplies) favour pulp price hikes especially in 1H 2017
(April 26, 2017) On a whole, market conditions favour pulp price hikes (especially hardwood). Demand conditions (particularly in China) remain solid. BTG Pactual analysts in their report dated April 02, 2017 state that they “remain optimistic on pricing momentum” although they “expect prices to correct from July onwards (summer seasonality/imminent H2 start-up).”
Corporates continue to observe strong demand trends across all regions, with
inventories low at the consumer level and ongoing global paper price hikes have also
helped. In addition, other factors Read More...
Link: record recovered paper rates in the U.S
(USA, April 2017) Another month, another record-setting several weeks for recovered paper pricing. …
At $172.78 per ton, OCC pricing jumped $40 to $45 in the Northeast region, $35 in the Midwest, $40 in the Southeast and Southwest regions and $30 in the Los Angeles/San Francisco region, according to the March 6 PPW Yellow Sheet from Boston-based research firm RISI. Compared with OCC’s U.S. average pricing in March 2015 of $71.39 per ton, the March 2017 price is double that Read More...
Klabin Reports Strong First Quarter 2017 Results
(Brazil, May 01, 2017) Klabin, Brazil’s largest paper producer and exporter, on April 27 reported financial results for the first quarter of 2017. The company recorded Adjusted EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) of R$ 539 million in the first quarter of 2017, an increase of 5% compared to the same period in 2016.
Total sales volume came to 759,000 tonnes (excluding wood) in the first quarter of this year, an increase of 67% from the same quarter Read More...
International Paper Reports First Quarter 2017 Earnings
(Memphis, USA, April 27, 2017) International Paper (NYSE: IP) today reported first quarter 2017 net earnings attributable to International Paper of $209 million ($0.50 per share) compared with net earnings of $218 million ($0.53 per share) for the fourth quarter of 2016 and net earnings of $334 million ($0.81 per share) in the first quarter of 2016. Net earnings in all periods include the impact of special items, if any, non-operating pension expense and discontinued operations.
Adjusted operating earnings in Read More...
Is the Paper Industry Getting Greener? Five Questions Answered
(New York, May 01, 2017) By Gary M. Scott, Professor and Chair of the Department of Paper and Bioprocess Engineering at the State University of New York - College of Environmental Science and Forestry.
1. Does paper manufacturing contribute to deforestation? Pulp and paper companies often are accused of cutting down trees to make paper. However, 39 percent of the fiber used for papermaking comes from recycled paper. Most of the remaining wood is obtained either through forest thinning (removing Read More...
Link: China fighting environmental consequences of e-commerce boom
(UK, March 22, 2017) Some 31.3 billion parcels were shipped across the country in 2015 - a year-on-year increase of more than 50%, according to data from China’s State Post Bureau. And in response to the rapidly-growing packaging waste stream generated by the nation’s flourishing e-commerce sector, China’s Cainiao Network has set up the Cainiao Green Alliance Foundation.
Some 7.5 billion plastic bags, 10 billion cardboard boxes and 17 billion metres of wrapping tape were used to ship China’s parcels Read More...