Friday, December 7, 2012

USPS & UPS Green Partners

In a video address to a global audience, U.S. Postal Service Postmaster General and Chief Executive Officer Patrick Donahoe, and UPS Chairman and CEO Scott Davis announced a unique partnership designed to offer better service to customers, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and optimize operational efficiencies. -->
"We've named our partnership 'Blue and Brown Make Green,'" said Donahoe. "By working together, the Postal Service and UPS are able to reduce costs, serve our customers better and achieve sustainability goals, such as reducing our carbon footprints.

Whole Living Magazine Shuttered

Martha Stewart is shutting down Whole Living magazine, spurring hundreds of readers, staffers and fans to take to Twitter to mourn the magazine’s demise, praising everything from its team of editors to great recipes and “visually elegant” content.
MSLO had been in talks to sell the magazine to former Hachette Filipacchi CEO Jack Kliger and TV Guide owner OpenGate Capital for $2.5 million, but they apparently fell through. MSLO told staffers yesterday afternoon that Whole Living was kaput.

New Bay Media Buys Intent Media

NewBay Media, publisher of brands in the video, audio and music markets, has acquired London-based Intent Media. The deal adds 19 titles, more than 20 events and related assets to NewBay's product lineup.
It also sets up a bidirectional product expansion opportunity: NewBay titles can expand internationally and Intent Media brands can be developed in the U.S.

World Assoc. of Newspaper: 2.5 Billion Readers

The World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA) today published the 2012 edition of World Press Trends, its annual report on the state of the global newspaper industry.
Some key points:
2.5 billion people read a newspaper in print regularly.
Newspaper circulation grew by 1.1 per cent globally last year, to 512 million copies, and 4.2 per cent between 2007 and 2011. The growing newspaper business in Asia has more than offset circulation losses elsewhere in the world.

Quad/Graphics:Court Approval for Vertis Acquisition

Quad/Graphics Receives Court Approval to Acquire Vertis:
Quad/Graphics, Inc. and Vertis Holdings, Inc. jointly announced today that the U.S. Bankruptcy Court has approved the companies' proposed sale agreement, clearing the way for the sale to close.

SGIA Industry Steady Growth for Q3

SGIA Industry Pulse Shows Steady Growth This Quarter: Third Quarter Industry Pulse Benchmarking Report Outlines Steady GrowthFairfax, Virginia –SGIA's Third Quarter Industry Pulse Benchmarking Report reflects firmer ground to operate from for the graphic and sign community after a soft second quarter. According to the statistics, confidence in graphics and sign is positive, but concern about the US economy keeps most companies cautious.

Thursday, December 6, 2012

Port Hawkesbury Looks at Diversifying Grades

As global consumption of paper products continues to decline, Port Hawkesbury Paper LLC is looking at diversifying its grades of paper to offset the drop.
The former NewPage Port Hawkesbury paper mill in Point Tupper, bought for $33 million by Pacific West Commercial Corp., an affiliate of Stern Partners Inc. of Vancouver, roared its supercalendered paper machine to life in October after a year sitting idle. 
The market in the United States for supercalendered paper, used for magazines, catalogues and newspaper inserts, is roughly two million tonnes annually, while the lightweight coated paper market is nearly 3.5 million tonnes, Ron Stern said Wednesday.
“This mill has the capability of expanding its grade mix so you will see us trying — and I think we will — sell more and more paper,” Stern told The Chronicle Herald’s editorial board.

SCA Cutting LWC Production with Ortviken Downtime

SCA Forest Products reduces staff by 55

SCA has recently resumed production on the 210,000 tonne/yr lightweight coated (LWC) paper unit PM 1 at its Ortviken mill in Sundsvall on the east coast of Sweden.
"The market situation is weak, so we took the chance to stop [PM 1] and perform some maintenance measures that we would have had to do at some point anyway," mill manager Kristina Enander told RISI. She declined to specify when the machine was restarted or how long it had been down.
Next week, SCA will take downtime on the mill's second LWC machine, the 280,000 tonne/yr PM 4, a company spokesperson said. This also concerns necessary maintenance work, but the timing was chosen due to the weak market situation and the coming long holidays, during which the firm's customers will have lower activity than usual, he explained.

Ilim Plans Q2 2013 Coated PM Start, Russia


Ilim Group held a meeting with representatives of Russia's largest printing offices and distributors of print media and paper products in order to familiarize them with the progress on construction of the first coated freesheet paper production in Russia. ...At the meeting Ilim Group told the attendees about the implementation status of the investment project that will ultimately enable the Koryazhma Branch of OJSC Ilim Group in the Arkhangelsk Oblast to produce coated paper complying with European quality standards in Q2 2013. The company will produce up to 90,000 tons of double-coated paper per year, its basis weight ranging from 90 to 150 gsm (both matt and glossy), to be available in rolls and sheets.

Canadian Wood Products Industry 3rd Year of Profits

Profits sprout in Canada’s wood products industry
Canada's wood products manufacturing industry is set to earn $381 million in pre-tax profits this year, marking its third consecutive year in the black, according to The Conference Board of Canada's Industrial Outlook-Autumn 2012.
With industry profits forecast to quadruple this year, Canada's wood products manufacturers are reaping some of the benefits of their restructuring during the past decade. Profits are forecast to double in 2013 to $787 million and exceed $1 billion annually beginning in 2014.

FPAC Remains Committed to Boreal Forest Agreement Despite Greenpeace Move

Forest Products Association of Canada members remain committed to the Boreal Forest Agreement:
Member companies of the Forest Products Association of Canada (FPAC) remain committed to the promises made to Canadians, rural communities, the environment and the marketplace under the Canadian Boreal Forest Agreement (CBFA) and will continue to work hard with environmental partners on its implementation.
Greenpeace has announced it has abandoned the agreement but all other signatories remain at the table, dedicated to both the spirit and the letter of the CBFA. The agreement is aimed at conserving both the Boreal forest and ensuring economic prosperity while taking joint responsibility for success.

Sustainability a Key Factor for Consumers

Sustainability a Key Factor for Consumers, Survey Finds (Going Green):
Given my long-ish history in market research and survey data (I still have fond memories of the old TrendWatch days), I am drawn to the various consumer sustainability surveys that occasionally appear. The latest is called Re: Thinking Consumption: Consumers and the Future of Sustainability, developed by BBMG, GlobeScan and SustainAbility. It comprises responses from more than 6,000 consumers from six countries.

National Wildlife Launches Ranger Rick Jr.

After 50 years of guiding children through wildlife and ecology on his own, Ranger Rick is getting a helping hand in the form of a younger sibling.
The National Wildlife Federation, the publisher of the Ranger Rick magazine, which is intended for children ages 7 to 12, is starting a counterpart for younger readers. The new magazine, called Ranger Rick Jr., will feature Ricky Raccoon, who will serve as a mascot for children ages 4 to 7.

Hearst COO Swartz Named President

Steven Swartz is one step closer to the CEO position of Hearst Corp. Today, Hearst announced that Swartz, 50, was adding the title of president to his current role of COO.
Hearst CEO Frank A. Bennack Jr. has reportedly been grooming Swartz as his heir. Bennack, 79, has been the company’s CEO since 1979 (he briefly retired from 2002 to 2008) and is likely looking at another retirement in the not-so-distant future.

USPS Gives Contract to Firm It's Suing

The US Postal Service has awarded a $30m contract to Northrop Grumman Corporation at the same time it is attempting to sue the company over breaches of another contract, seeking a nine-figure sum.
Virginia-based Northrop Grumman filed a lawsuit back in May seeking $179m from the struggling Postal Service to compensate for delays in a $874m contract to install flats sequencing machines under the USPS modernisation programme.
USPS counter-sued at the end of October, denying various Northrop Grumman claims and firing back at its contract with allegations it breached its contract by failing to install the flats sequencing machines by the agreed dates.
The Postal Service is seeking $390m in damages, reflecting losses it says Northrop Grumman’s delays caused.

Next Issue Adds Titles, Marketing Campaign

Next Issue, the magazine newsstand app sponsored by Condé Nast, Hearst, Meredith, News Corp. and Time Inc., recently announced the addition of eight new titles to its catalog—bringing the total number of offerings to 80. Next Issue, which in the past was the target of criticism for its slow pace of expansion and initial roll-out on a very limited number of devices, has stepped it up as of late, finally coming to the iPad in July (though having problems on Android) and publicizing its $9.99 all-you-can-eat access plan via high-profile TV and Web ads, one of which ran this week during the Colbert Report on Comedy Central.

Gap Extends OOH Marketing

A top Gap marketing executive said the company made a renewed push into out-of-home (OOH) advertising in 2012, partly to increase business in top markets and reach more millennials.
One aim was to place ads close to stores, said Chris Gayton, senior director, marketing and brand management at Gap.
Examples included an initiative in a Boston station across the street from a high volume store and wallboards in a San Francisco depot, where there is a store right above ground.

SodaStream Moves to Print Ads

SodaStream is switching to a print advertising campaign to keep up the pressure on U.K. ad regulators, after its TV spot was banned for "denigrating the soft drinks industry." -->
The print ad, running today in major U.K. newspapers including the Guardian, Daily Mail and Evening Standard, is headlined, "Censored," and makes the claim that could not be broadcast on TV: "With SodaStream you can save 1,000 bottles a year." It was created by Studio 0304 in Israel, where SodaStream International is based.

Hearst Acquires 50% of NorthSouth Productions

Hearst Corp. has acquired a 50% stake in NorthSouth Productions, the producer of reality shows such as "Say Yes to the Dress: Atlanta" on TLC, the upcoming "Impractical Jokes" on TruTV and, with the BBC, "Lovetown, USA" on the Oprah Winfrey Network. Terms were not disclosed.

Hearst's Cosmopolitan Partners with Harlequin

Harlequin, one of the world's leading publishers of books for women, and Cosmopolitan, the world's largest women's magazine, today announced a book publishing partnership to bring Cosmopolitan's fun, fearless female sensibility to fiction readers everywhere.  Cosmo Red Hot Reads from Harlequin will present independent, adventurous women in contemporary settings and feature fast-paced plots, great dialogue and compelling romance. The shorter length of Cosmo Red Hot Reads from Harlequin titles (approximately 30,000 words per title) should appeal to readers on a variety of platforms, including mobile devices.

Relaunch of Coup de Pouce Successful


The November 2012 issue of the magazine Coup de pouce, one of TC Media's core brand, has completely vanished from store shelves and achieved extraordinary newsstand success, racking up 79,259 sales in addition to its 173,945 monthly subscriptions. The November issue marked the introduction of the brand-new Coup de pouce, bringing its readers a more streamlined layout, more dynamic content, entertaining and informative articles, inspiring photos and a totally new look. Plus, these exceptional figures don't cover the higher traffic to the coupdepouce.com website, which was revamped like the magazine, and which had over 3 138 060 page views in October.
  

Millenials Use Newspaper Inserts

Millenials: We Would Shop Less Without Newspaper Inserts": More than Boomers and Gen Xers, it's Millenials (60%) who say they would shop less without newspaper inserts.

Exhibition Industry Growth Slows in Q3

CEIR: Exhibition Industry Growth Slows in Third Quarter:
Exhibition industry growth slowed in the third quarter after posting strong gains in the first half of 2012. According to the Center for Exhibition Industry Research (CEIR) Index, the tradeshow industry grew just 0.9 percent in Q3—down from 3 percent and 1.7 percent in Q1 and Q2, respectively—as the possibility of another economic crisis looms on the horizon.

Transcontinental Reports FY 2102 Results

Acquisitions Boost Transcontinental’s Revenues; Agreement with Hearst Renegotiated:
Transcontinental Inc. ended fiscal 2012 on a very good note, with revenues up 12.2 percent (from $521.6 million to $585.1 million ) in the fourth quarter. This increase is mainly due to the acquisition of Quad/Graphics Canada and acquisitions in the Media Sector, namely Redux Media. Excluding acquisitions and closures, and the impact of fluctuations in the exchange rate and paper, organic revenue growth was $0.8 million, or 0.2 percent.

Wednesday, December 5, 2012

Supreme Court to Decide Logging Road Regulations

The U.S. Supreme Court will decide whether to switch gears on more than 30 years of regulating the muddy water running off logging roads into rivers.
At issue: Should the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency keep considering it the same as water running off a farm field, or start looking at it like a pipe coming out of a factory?
The case being heard Monday in Washington, D.C., was originated by a small environmental group in Portland, the Northwest Environmental Defense Center.

West Coast Port Strike Ends

After an eight-day strike that crippled the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, clerical workers from a local office of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union on Tuesday night agreed to a new contract with the terminal operators at the ports. Union members will return to work Wednesday morning.
As the strike dragged into its second week, both sides had come under increasing pressure from local officials to end the dispute, which had threatened to derail the Southern California economy during the holiday season. Officials from the Port of Long Beach estimated that $650 million in trade has been idled each day of the strike. A federal mediator arrived on Tuesday to help broker a deal.

Sappi Cloquet Union Votes This Week

United Steelworkers Local 11-63 will have a vote this week on a proposed contract with Cloquet’s Sappi Fine Paper, a week after it authorized a strike if the mill and union could not come to an agreement.

Arjowiggins Stops Production at Dalum Mill

Arjowiggins has permanently stopped pulp and paper production at its Dalum Papir mills in Denmark.
Dalum Papir, located in Odense on the island of Funen, can produce some 103,000 tonnes/yr of uncoated and light coated paper from recovered paper on PM 7. The 75,000 tonne/yr Maglemølle deinked pulp mill in Næstved on the island of Zealand supplies the paper factory with raw material.

Boise Names COO

Boise Inc. Promotes Judy Lassa to Chief Operating Officer

Boise Inc. announced that Judy Lassa will become executive vice president and chief operating officer of the company on January 1, 2013. 

Chinese-Croatian JV Building Paper Mill

Chinese-Croatian joint venture to build pulp and paper mill in Croatia
According to EUWID Pulp & Paper, the Chinese-Croatian joint venture Dravacel will build a pulp and paper mill in Croatia mill that will produce  500,000 tpy of coated graphic and packaging paper.
The joint venture is established by Croatian paper and packaging manufacturer PAN Papirna Industrija and China International Investment Stock. The mill will be located in in Slatina, in north-east Croatia.

Direct Mail Remains Consumers' Preference

Direct Mail Remains Consumers' Preferred Choice for Marketing Messages: Direct mail continues to deliver as consumers' preferred means of receiving marketing messages, with six out of 10 Americans reporting they "enjoy getting postal mail from brands about new products."

USPS Profit in October

The US Postal Service made a $61m profit in October, and even achieved 5.6% growth in its mail and services revenues compared to the same month last year.
And for the full year, the world’s largest postal service is now projecting that it will cut its losses in half, to $7.6bn for the fiscal year 2013.
The struggling Postal Service has been teetering on the edge of liquidity over the past year, defaulting on $11bn worth of payments to the federal government in August and September. Planning on a $14bn loss for fiscal year 2012, USPS actually recorded a $15.9bn loss for the 12 months up to the end of September, including the payments it refused to make.

Parcel Rate Increases for Retailers

UPS announced 6.5 percent air increases partially offset by a 2 percent fuel surcharge reduction, and 5.9 percent average ground increase offset by a 1 percent fuel surcharge reduction. Rate increases will take effect Dec. 31, 2012.
Similarly, FedEx announced average rate increases of 5.9 percent for express and international services, offset by a 2 percent reduction in fuel surcharges. FedEx hasn't yet announced 2013 increases for FedEx Ground, FedEx Home Delivery or FedEx SmartPost, although it's expected to match the UPS ground increases highlighted above. FedEx's rate increases take effect Jan. 6, 2013.

How 2013 Postal Increase Will Affect You

An overall 2.57% United States Postal Service rate postage rate increase is scheduled to take effect on January 27th, 2013.
The interesting thing about postage rate increases is that they are typically not distributed equally across all classes of mail. As a result trying to determine exactly how the increase will impact you can be quite confusing.
The purpose of this short article is to break down how the rate increase impacts the different classes of postage. As a bulk mail professional, I'm most interested in the impact on letter-sized pieces and Every Door Direct Mail.

The Great Green Debate of the Printing Industry

The Great Green Debate of the Printing Industry:
Being at Graph Expo this year, I was interested to see how big of a topic environmental sustainability was. So many industry-leading printing equipment manufacturers were eager to demonstrate their environmentally responsible solutions. The industry has come under pressure in recent years as the growing trend to go “paperless” takes off. But what I was surprised to learn, and I’m hoping many others will be too, is that a number of myths exist regarding the sustainability of paper and the printing industry. Thanks to information I picked up in one booth from Two Sides (www.twosides.us), I engaged in my own version of myth-busters and would like to share the same with you.

Huey Prepares for Departure from Time

In the decade I’ve covered John Huey, I’d never once been to his magisterial office on the 34th floor of the Time & Life building. It is large and imposing in a way its occupant is not, an unlikely landing spot for an old newspaper hack. On the wall is a photograph of William Faulkner, “the patron saint of all hard-drinking Southern writers,” as Mr. Huey, a native of Atlanta, describes him.

Urban Outfitters Catalog Uses "Descriptive" Language

The youth-centric retailer Urban Outfitters is hawking its Christmas merchandise along with some nasty language this year.
CBS 2′s Brad Edwards reports the company is pushing much more than knits and tees on the pages of its Christmas catalog...

Nintendo Power Magazine Shuttered

Well, gamers, it’s the end of an era. Nintendo Power has just released its final issue. As of December 2012, the iconic video game magazine is no more.