With the Asian financial crisis, papermakers squatted through the 20th century. In the 21st century, paper prices in the first quarter have rekindled new hopes for them. Papermakers all over the world expect this situation to continue and hope that paper prices will start a new round of gains. Maybe they Really dreams come true. Because the demand in North America and Europe is growing, the economy in Asia is also recovering, and the paper production in the past two years will not have much growth.
As of the end of January, paper has experienced two 4% increase prices. In the second quarter or the third quarter, it is expected that there will be a 4% increase in the price of all paper, from envelopes, book paper, to foreskins, opaque, offset printing, etc., and vice president and customer service director of Center Lemar. Ken Great England said. He said that “increase of internal supply is not yet realistic, and the number of overseas imports is also decreasing. In particular, the Asian economy is also recovering, and the consumption of paper is also expanding. It can be said that the current market has become in short supply. As the US economy continues to grow, the price of paper will continue to climb." "If the popularity of the Internet has any impact on paper, it will increase the demand for paper."
The price hikes should be according to the American Forest and Paper Association (-AF/PA) survey. In the following three years, the output of US paper and paperboard can only increase at an annual rate of 0.7%. Increases, industrial capital tensions, paper machine downtime and Other factors are the main reasons for this delay. According to its statistics, compared with 1998, the output of paper this year was reduced by 577,000 tons, which is a decrease of 2,500,000 tons compared with 1999. This reduction is mainly concentrated on some levels of carton board. The pulp production of chemical synthetic paper was also reduced by 276,000 tons compared with 98 years, 786,000 tons less than in 1999.
According to Dawn Westhelle of Hudson City Paper’s paper supplier Ken England, the price increase for this paper will sooner or later be passed on to customers. For some large non-coated paper buyers, this effect may lag for one to three months, but it should be revealed at the latest in April. "Paper prices are too high," he said. "For so many years, paper makers have been losing money."
Steadfast Paper is a manufacturer of pressure-sensitive, rubber, synthetic and other types of paper. They only experienced the increase in prices of individual products, while the Bombardson of Atlantic Paperboard experienced this year's surge. Take a skeptical attitude toward this situation. He said: "This is just a cyclical phenomenon. When the paper rises to a certain price, the printer will accumulate paper, and then the paper price will surely fall again." "I have 60 years of experience in this industry. The same thing always happens: Manufacturers do not know that prices will come to an end. They are too greedy and end up with big losses."
The change in the price of digital game pulp plays a very important role in the price of paper, especially commercial paper. According to the analysis of experts, pulp accounts for 60% of the total cost for the most commonly used non-additive synthetic paper. The other part is energy prices, followed by labor costs.
According to the report of the Freedonia Group, from now until 2002, the papermaking capacity of the United States will not increase much. Overseas production capacity is somewhat expanded. For example, China purchased five large paper machines in 1999, which will have a slight effect on the price of paper. However, market demand will still cause prices to rise. By 2008, the price of printing and writing paper will increase by 45% over 98. Commercial paper will rise 49%. The envelope paper will only rise 16% next year.
Although paper consumption is expanding worldwide, some varieties are expected to show a downward trend, while the standard-size papers used for on-demand printing are expected to grow exponentially.
Alas, Canada Although paper makers in most countries, including the United States, have been bathed in the spring of price hikes, Canadian papermakers, which can be located in the north, are still on the ice and snow where paper pulp prices are falling. Fiscal policy of tightening prices is one of the main factors affecting price increases. It also causes many companies to buy for outsiders. Last year, U.S. timber giant Weyerhaeuser bought MacMillan Bloedel Ltd, and Quebec’s Forex was annexed by Louisiana-Pacific. All of this happened after Bowater merged Avenor Paper Mills in 1998.
In order to fundamentally solve the problem, Canadian manufacturers also reorganized. Abitibi Consolidated Inc. is one of Canada’s leading newsprint suppliers. It has reduced 1,300 jobs and 10% of its workforce. There is still a $88 million deficit in the second quarter of 1999. According to the analysis of the Canadian Pulp and Paper Association, the profitability in 1999 was better than 98 years, but it really turned over, and I am afraid it was not until the end of 2000. Pulp prices will be of some help, but its role will not be reflected until 2001.
From a worldwide perspective, mergers and acquisitions continue. In addition to Canada, Sweden's Stora is also recently integrated with Finland's Enso. Analysts pointed out that European countries have been watching the North and South America of the Atlantic.
Like the South American continent, the Pacific Rim is no exception. It is also an expansion target for the United States and European countries because they have a suitable climate. Soft wood species such as pine wood can be made into pulp in Brazil in 17 years, while in Finland it takes 50 years. Hardwood takes 7 years to complete, while some European countries need to wait 40 years. Others such as cheap labor and potential markets are also good reasons in this area.
Although good, but the task is very arduous. UPM-Kymmene's cooperation with Singapore's Asia Pacific Resources International (APRIL) ended in failure because APRIL did not complete the task of establishing a pulp mill in Indonesia as agreed. Similarly, Stora Enso's paper mill in Brazil has also delayed a long construction period because the construction of paper mills is facing pressure from environmental protection and strong opposition from tourists. The paper industry in the future will definitely be mixed. On the bad side, the development of European recycled paper technology has made it possible to make use of waste paper. The slow economic growth in the United States in 2000 and the development of the papermaking industry in Germany, France, Japan, and China in the neighboring countries will also be a deterrent to paper prices. The important factor for the rise.
In China, the production of high-quality paper seems to have exceeded supply at least for the time being and the price must not be lowered. There will be similar situations in other places. If an industry grows too fast, it is destined to attract large amounts of money. Therefore, some papers, such as uncoated paper without wood pulp, have also caused a lot of trouble for manufacturers. However, the industry is still relatively good, especially the growth of the European economy and the recovery of the Asian economy are all very important favorable factors. All papermakers have taken a step forward and the price has gone up for the most time. Therefore, they are all optimistic and convinced that this year will be a bumper year for them.
As a by-product of the increase in paper prices, many printers may have noticed that some types of paper no longer exist. "The merger has eliminated the production of certain papers, and this phenomenon will intensify," said the England General. "But the mergers in the industry have brought about an orderly increase in market prices. This is something that everyone urgently needs."