Monday, June 18, 2012

USPS Issues Sustainability Report


Demonstrating its continued commitment to sustainability excellence, the U.S. Postal Service recently published its 2011 Annual Sustainability Report, which highlighted achievements, including a 7.4 percent decrease in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from a fiscal year (FY) 2008 baseline. The reduction of almost 985,000 metric tons of CO2 is equal to removing nearly 200,000 passenger vehicles from the road for a year.

Friday, June 15, 2012

Bowater Mersey Indefinitely Idled

Bowater Mersey to be indefinitely idled:
Resolute Forest Products has just announced that it will indefinitely idle the Mersey newsprint mill located in Brooklyn, Nova Scotia.
The facility, owned by Bowater Mersey Paper Company Limited (BMPCL), is a joint venture between Resolute (51%) and the Washington Post (49%).
The indefinite idling will be effective on Sunday, June 17, 2012.

Future of Kruger's Corner Brook Still in Doubt


The Newfoundland Premier has come out swinging against a west coast MP who held a public meeting last night in Corner Brook to release a report on the viability of Corner Brook Pulp and Paper.
Premier Kathy Dunderdale told the media today she considers Gerry Bryne's involvement 'irresponsible politics'. Dunderdale says Byrne's suggestion that the Corner Brook Mill is viable and sustainable has misled the workers in a very serious way.
An American paper industry analyst is standing by his company's financial assessment of the mill in Corner Brook.

Catalyst Paper Seeks Amended Plan Approval


Catalyst Paper today announced that it is seeking approval of a further amended Plan of Arrangement (the Amended Plan) under the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act and will file tomorrow for approval from the Court to set meetings of its secured and unsecured creditors to consider the Amended Plan (the Meetings). Subject to Court approval, the Meetings are tentatively scheduled for June 25, 2012.

Private Woodlot Owners Competing with Crown Land Supply


The head of the New Brunswick Federation of Woodlot Owners is cautiously optimistic that the provincial government’s halt order for cutting lumber on Crown land will be the necessary catalyst to get big forestry companies back at the table. Andrew Clark says the relationship between private woodlot owners and J.D. Irving Limited and Twin Rivers Paper Company has been “confrontational” and “dictatorial". Woodlot owners say they haven’t been able to sell pulpwood for months as a result of an overabundance of product caused by recent mill closings and because forestry companies are taking their supplies from Crown land at low prices. They say their revenues are down $250 million over the last 5 years.

DMA; Direct Mail Response Rates Top Email

DMA finds direct-mail response rates outperform digital: Direct-mail response rates outperform digital programs, according to a report from the Direct Marketing Association. According to the DMA's “2012 Response Rate Report,” response rates for direct mail to existing customers average 3.40%, compared with 0.12% for email.

F+W Sponsors World of Art


The World of Art Showcase, a multi-faceted "Celebration of the Senses," inviting renowned and up and coming painters from across the U.S. to share their work with serious collectors, is pleased to announce its new partnership with The Artist's Magazine and Southwest Art Magazine, two longstanding and influential publications owned by F+W Media.

'ENR' to Launch New Print Section

'ENR' to launch Contractor Business Quarterly section: McGraw-Hill Cos.' Engineering-New Record will begin publishing a new print and digital section, called Contractor Business Quarterly, with its July 16 issue.

Q1 Event Revenue Up, Print Falls

BIN: Event revenue up, print down in Q1: In this year's first quarter, events posted a revenue gain, but b-to-b print ad revenue declined, according to Business Information Network figures compiled by American Business Media.

Thursday, June 14, 2012

Sappi; Brazil Key Coated Market

Global coated paper producer Sappi aims to increase its market share in Latin America, according to Sappi Trading's CEO, Wayne Rau. The executive stated that coated woodfree paper sales in Brazil have been increasing at a 4-5% pace in the past few years.

Resolute/Fibrek Deal Moves Forward

Resolute Forest Products and Fibrek announce second step arrangement agreement:
Resolute Forest Products Inc.  and Fibrek Inc. have announced that Fibrek has entered into an agreement with RFP Acquisition Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Resolute, for a proposed arrangement to amalgamate and form a new corporation, wholly-owned by Resolute.

Washington State Judge Rules for Nippon Project


Seven environmental groups who oppose a $71 million biomass expansion project under construction at Nippon Paper Industries Inc.'s Ediz Hook plant are pondering their next move after an appeal was rejected in Thurston County Superior Court.

Industrial Production Falls in Euro Zone


In April 2012 compared with March 2012, seasonally adjusted industrial production1 fell by 0.8% in the euro area2 (EA17) and by 0.4% in the EU272. In March3 production decreased by 0.1% and 0.2% respectively.

PwC; Magazines End Revenue Decline in 2012

Magazines to End Recent Revenue Declines: Consumer magazines in the United States will put an end to four years of overall revenue declines in 2012, a new report projected. Total revenue will edge up 0.1 percent, as advertising increases 2 percent and consumer spending on circulation slips 2.5 percent, according to the annual “Global Entertainment and Media Outlook” from PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Time Titles Now on Apple Newsstand


Time Inc., the last major publisher missing from the Apple Newsstand, has finally given into the tech giant. Today, the No. 1 U.S. publisher announced that monthly and annual digital subscriptions—as well as single-copy sales—for all 20 of its consumer titles are now available through the Newsstand in U.S. and select international markets. 

HarperCollins Starts Golbal Initiative



Publishing company HarperCollins has launched a new global publishing initiative called HarperCollins 360 that will make sure that all HarperCollins books, the global catalog of 50,000 print books and 40,000 e-books, are available in all English-language markets.

Heidelberg Reports Q4 FY 2011 Results

Heidelberg records £122m loss but targets swift recovery:
Its full year results for 2011/12 also revealed a small dip in sales, from €2,629m to €2,596m, while its pre-tax loss ballooned from €143m in 2010/11. Incoming orders slipped by 7% to €2.5bn for the year, while the company's order backlog for the period fell by 20% year-on-year to €506m.

QuadDirect Invests in Effingham Plant

QuadDirect Expands Effingham Direct Mail Capabilities and Capacity:
QuadDirect, a division of Quad/Graphics, Inc. , is setting new records in direct mail production and distribution savings at its Effingham, Ill., facility following a multimillion- dollar investment in new commingling mailing and inline manufacturing equipment and systems.

American Honda Awards RR Donnelley

American Honda Presents Premier Partner Award to RR Donnelley: R. R. Donnelley & Sons Company today announced that American Honda has recognized it as a top supplier with its Premier Partner Award.

Wednesday, June 13, 2012

Resolute Adds Certified Forests Holdings

Resolute Forest Products now manages 10.3 million hectares of certified forests:
Resolute Forest Products has become the largest manager of FSC® certified forests in the world.
The company recently certified 3.2 million hectares of forestlands in the Lac-Saint-Jean region of Quebec to the FSC Boreal Standard. This certification raises the total area of Resolute-managed FSC-certified forests in North America to 10.3 million hectares, an area twice the size of Nova Scotia and larger than Portugal, Hungary or South Korea.

Domtar Sells Ottawa/Gatineau


Domtar Corporation today announced the signing by its Canadian subsidiary, Domtar Inc. ("Domtar"), of a Definitive Purchase and Sale Agreement ("the agreement") for the sale of its hydro assets in Ottawa, Ontario and Gatineau, Québec for $45 million. The purchaser is Energy Ottawa Inc. ("Energy Ottawa"), the renewable energy subsidiary of Hydro Ottawa Holding Inc.

Stora Enso Issues Bonds


Stora Enso has today successfully issued two five-year bonds with total nominal value SEK 1 700 million under its EMTN (Euro Medium Term Note) programme. Both bonds are due on 26 June 2017. 

Hearst's Food Network Raising Rate Base Again

Food Network Magazine to Raise Rate Base Twice in 2013:
Hearst’s Food Network Magazine plans to hike its rate base twice in the coming year. The January/February 2013 issue will mark an increase from 1.45 to 1.5 million, and the rate base will increase again to 1.55 million with the title’s July/August 2013 issue. These hikes represent the eighth and ninth rate base increases for the publication since its 2009 debut.

Time Inc.'s Money Offers Targeted Print Options

Time Inc.'s Money Gives Advertisers Custom Messaging and Creative Options:
Money has launched a new custom printing option for its advertisers that lets them vary their messaging for targeted markets and audience segments. Called IntelliPrint and offered via Money's printer Quad/Graphics the plan marries Time Inc.'s customer database with Quad's technology to run the unique messaging.

Advanstar Buys Comikaze Expo

Advanstar Acquires Stan Lee’s Comikaze Expo:
Advanstar Communications, a b-to-b media company and event organizer in the fashion, powersports, licensing and dental markets, among others, has entered into the comics event market with the purchase of the year-old Stan Lee’s Comikaze Expo Presented by POW! Entertainment (formerly Comikaze Expo).

B-to-B Ad Revenue Declines

ABM released its first-quarter 2012 BIN report Tuesday, and print advertising reversed course from 2011 and event revenue, while remaining a bright spot, appears to have slowed its growth when compared to the first quarter last year.

Advertising & Marketing Companies Hiring


Fifteen percent of marketing and advertising companies plan to hire staff in the next three months, according to a survey by the Creative Group, a recruitment agency for the advertising industry.

Ad Revenue to Increase 5.9% CAGR to $229B in 2016


According to PwC's annual Global Entertainment and Media Outlook 2012-2016 - an in-depth five-year outlook for global consumer spending and advertising revenues directly related to entertainment and media content - released today, the industry is approaching the 'end of the digital beginning' with digital now embedded in business-as-usual and moving to the heart of many E&M companies.

April Direct Mail Volume Falls


The cool-off in credit card mail that began in the winter of 2011 looks set to continue, at least for now, according to Mintel Comperemedia. In April, 260 million offers for new credit cards were received by US households, down 33% from the 390 million offers US households received during April of last year. This is the lowest estimated monthly mail volume tracked in the past 25 months.

21% of Employers Plan to HIre in Q3


Hiring confidence among U.S. employers continues to inch up as all states, regions and industries surveyed report a positive Net Employment Outlook, according to the latest Manpower Employment Outlook Survey released today by ManpowerGroup. The seasonally adjusted survey results show the Net Employment Outlook for Quarter 3 2012 is +11%, slightly up from +10% during Quarter 2 2012 and +8% during the same period last year.

Advance Announces Cuts for Newspaper


Over 200 employees at the New Orleans newspaper, Times-Picayune, were laid off Tuesday.
Overall, Advance Publications, the paper’s New York-based parent company, cut one-third of its staff. It also plans to reduce the printing schedule to only three days a week, as well as give further attention to its digital news distribution.
The paper has been in business for over 175 years.

Barclays Revises Forecast

Barclays lowers global ad forecast: London—Ad spending internationally will be less robust this year than initially anticipated, according to Barclays. The financial services company now forecasts that global ad spending will total $490 billion by year-end, an increase of 3.

Tuesday, June 12, 2012

USW/NewPage Ratify Contract

USW Announces Ratified Contract at NewPage: The United Steelworkers (USW) today announced that its members at NewPage Corp. have ratified a new four-year Master Contract that will bring added protection to 4,500 workers and help the company emerge from Chapter 11 bankruptcy as a stable employer in the coated paper sector of the paper industry.

New Investment for Sappi's Cloquet

http://www.duluthnewstribune.com/event/article/id/233891/
There's been a paper mill in Cloquet for more than 110 years. Now, a massive investment in new technology at the Sappi Fine Paper mill should keep the mill operating in Cloquet for years to come.

UPM CEO, Confidence in Future


Jussi Pesonen, UPM's President and CEO, stated his confidence in the company's growth businesses during its Capital Markets Day in London. "UPM's growth businesses sales today exceed EUR 4.0 billion and we have confidence in further growth going forward. More than 50% of our sales will derive from these solid performing growth businesses on latter half of  this decade," said Pesonen.