Monday, April 22, 2013
North American Coated Paper Ships Fall, SC Up
The Pulp & Products Council has reported that North American coated mechanical paper shipments fell -9% in March as compared to the same month last year. Demand declined -5.9%, imports increased +5.3% and the operating rate was 86%. Coated woodfree paper shipments for the month were down -2.9%, demand decreased -7.3% and imports fell 23.7%. The operating rate was 84%. SC-A+/SC-A paper shipments rose +27.3%, demand was up +7.6% and imports fell -32.1%. SC-B/SNC+ paper shipments were up 4.4% and demand rose 1%. The Supercalendered operating rate was 91%.
North American P&W Paper Ships Down
North
American printing and writing paper shipments declined 6.7% last month,
bringing their total year-to-date reduction to 5.2%, according to the Pulp and
Paper Product Council's March statistics.
Both
uncoated freesheet and coated mechanical volumes posted 7.3% volume reductions,
while uncoated mechanical volumes declined 2.2%. Demand for the four main grades was down 6.7% overall in March, with uncoated freesheet falling 7.6% and uncoated mechanical down 4.8%.
Overall mill operating rates were 88%, five percentage points lower than in March last year.
IP in Talks to Spin Off Distribution Business
International Paper in talks to spin off distribution business:
International Paper Co is in talks with Bain Capital-backed Unisource Worldwide Inc to spin off and merge its distribution business with the privately held company as it focuses on its packaging business.
The unit, xpedx, distributes printing and packaging supplies in North America and accounted for about 22 percent of International Paper's $27.83 billion revenue last year. Xpedx's assets will be first divested into a newly formed corporation and International Paper will receive a cash dividend financed with debt raised by the new company. The newly formed corporation will then be spun off to International Paper shareholders and immediately thereafter merged with Unisource. The deal -- structured as a 'Reverse Morris Trust' transaction -- will be tax-free to International Paper and its shareholders, the company said. Terms of ownership in the merged company and the amount of dividend have not been decided.
International Paper Co is in talks with Bain Capital-backed Unisource Worldwide Inc to spin off and merge its distribution business with the privately held company as it focuses on its packaging business.
The unit, xpedx, distributes printing and packaging supplies in North America and accounted for about 22 percent of International Paper's $27.83 billion revenue last year. Xpedx's assets will be first divested into a newly formed corporation and International Paper will receive a cash dividend financed with debt raised by the new company. The newly formed corporation will then be spun off to International Paper shareholders and immediately thereafter merged with Unisource. The deal -- structured as a 'Reverse Morris Trust' transaction -- will be tax-free to International Paper and its shareholders, the company said. Terms of ownership in the merged company and the amount of dividend have not been decided.
NewCo to Acquire Wausau Paper Division
NewCo to acquire Wausau Paper division
Wausau Paper has signed a non-binding letter of intent to sell its specialty paper business to a NewCo, according to Recycling Today. Newco is a newly formed company tied to investment funding from KPS Capital Partners LP, a New York based private equity firm. KPS is said to have significant experience in the paper industry.
KPS also announces that it has signed a non-binding letter of intent to acquire an as yet undisclosed company that it will combine within NewCo with Wausau’s specialty paper business. Wausau has the option to have an initial ownership position in NewCo of up to 25 percent, with the opportunity to earn up to an additional 5 percent stake pending NewCo reaching certain performance thresholds.
As part of the transaction, NewCo will acquire the assets of Wausau Paper’s mills in Rhinelander and Mosinee, Wisconsin, for an initial cash purchase price of around $130 million.
A newly formed company tied to investment funding from KPS Capital Partners LP, a New York based private equity firm
KPS also announces that it has signed a non-binding letter of intent to acquire an as yet undisclosed company that it will combine within NewCo with Wausau’s specialty paper business. Wausau has the option to have an initial ownership position in NewCo of up to 25 percent, with the opportunity to earn up to an additional 5 percent stake pending NewCo reaching certain performance thresholds.
As part of the transaction, NewCo will acquire the assets of Wausau Paper’s mills in Rhinelander and Mosinee, Wisconsin, for an initial cash purchase price of around $130 million.
Russia to Invest $13 Billion in Forest Industry
Russia
will earmark 400 billion rubles ($13 billion) to finance priority projects in
the country’s forestry industry to make the sector attractive for investment
and address its long-term problems, President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday.
“We
must also make forestry attractive for investment. We plan to invest over 400
billion rubles in 118 projects in the sector which have received priority status,”
Putin told a State Council meeting which discussed measures to increase the
efficiency of the forest industry.Russia’s forestry business has been in the doldrums for the past two decades, marred by poor governance, low investment potential and the growth of illegal felling and illegal timber sales.
Up to 20 percent of timber logging or about 35 million cubic meters of timber is illegal, with economic damage from illegal timber sales estimated at 13-30 billion rubles ($420-$970 million) annually, according to WWF Russia and World Bank data.
North American Newsprint Ships Fall
North American newsprint shipments took a
double-digit dip in March, sliding 12.1% from year ago levels and bringing
the volume decline in 2013 to 9.9%, according to the Pulp and Paper Products
Council.
| Overseas
newsprint shipments fell 3.2% in March as a 23.2% fall in Latin American
shipments offset a 43.9% increase in exports to non-Japan Asia, but first
quarter volumes remained 8.2% above offshore exports in the first three
months of 2012. Demand for newsprint dropped 12.3% overall in March, with demand from newspapers down 11.7% from March last year and orders from commercial printers for other end uses lower by 14.8%. Mills operated at 89% on a shipment-to-capacity basis, five percentage points lower than a year ago, and mill inventories destined for both domestic and overseas delivery increased on both a monthly and annual basis. |
FSC, PEFC Speakers Featured at Mondi Event
The thematic scope of the event included: the future for forest products and
the environment; the necessity for forestry certification and the new EU Timber
Regulation; climate change and carbon neutrality; and going green as a good
business practice.
“Green business practices are a major concern for most businesses and organisations today. An environmental mindset requires not only a shift in the practices of companies but it also comes down to how we as individuals develop an environmental consciousness and adopt sustainable lifestyles.
The Green Event hosted guests from 13 countries from within the forestry, paper and printing industries as well as global companies and organisations for which green decision making is an integral part of their business strategy. In line with our Green Range slogan, to make the event as green as it gets the Green Event was CO2 neutral, including the participants’ transportation to and from the event,” said Peter Orisich CEO Mondi Uncoated Fine Paper, Europe and International.
“Green business practices are a major concern for most businesses and organisations today. An environmental mindset requires not only a shift in the practices of companies but it also comes down to how we as individuals develop an environmental consciousness and adopt sustainable lifestyles.
The Green Event hosted guests from 13 countries from within the forestry, paper and printing industries as well as global companies and organisations for which green decision making is an integral part of their business strategy. In line with our Green Range slogan, to make the event as green as it gets the Green Event was CO2 neutral, including the participants’ transportation to and from the event,” said Peter Orisich CEO Mondi Uncoated Fine Paper, Europe and International.
Consumers Motivated to "Look Green"
No matter how you are (or aren’t) celebrating Earth Day on Monday, it’s
likely that Americans are at least thinking about the health of the environment
and considering ways they can be more responsible. However, new Mintel research
on green consumer habits suggests that they might be motivated to go green to
improve their image, as roughly one in five (19%) survey respondents say they
believe it’s important for others to perceive them as being “green.”
Smithsonian Magazine Holds Conference
Smithsonian
magazine is getting ready to launch The Future Is Here, a new conference
focusing on science, technology, engineering and math innovations.
Hearst, Condé Nast Post Best Quarter in Five Years
Hearst Magazines Publishing Director
Michael Clinton says beauty consumers appreciate physical magazines.
Only newspapers have been given up for dead more often than magazines. But though their print cousins continue to lose advertising at a brisk clip, some magazine publishers are trumpeting a turnaround few could have foreseen in the dark days of 2008 and 2009, when nearly 1,000 titles shut down.
Both Hearst Magazines and Condé Nast, boosted partly by a revival in fashion
and beauty advertising, just marked their best first quarter in five years. Cosmopolitan, which has a new editor, a
revamped Harper's Bazaar, and
newcomer Food Network Magazine
registered solid double-digit gains in advertising pages, putting Hearst up by
6.6% in ad pages overall. Bon Appetit,
Details and GQ did the same for Condé Nast, which
rose 3.3% versus a year ago.
Only newspapers have been given up for dead more often than magazines. But though their print cousins continue to lose advertising at a brisk clip, some magazine publishers are trumpeting a turnaround few could have foreseen in the dark days of 2008 and 2009, when nearly 1,000 titles shut down.
Postmaster General Urges Congress to Pass Reforms
Ad Age Hires Executive Editor
Advertising Age has hired Matthew Quinn as executive editor, to build out
its coverage of the business of marketing and media.
Mr. Quinn, who starts May 6, has been editor of The Wall Street Journal's CFO Journal, which covers news and trends important to chief financial officers and other corporate-finance executives. It is a return to Crain Communications for Mr. Quinn, who helped launch Financial Week in 2006 and eventually served as assistant managing editor. He has reported on commercial banking, investment banking and corporate cash management and worked at Inc. and CFO Zone.
Mr. Quinn, who starts May 6, has been editor of The Wall Street Journal's CFO Journal, which covers news and trends important to chief financial officers and other corporate-finance executives. It is a return to Crain Communications for Mr. Quinn, who helped launch Financial Week in 2006 and eventually served as assistant managing editor. He has reported on commercial banking, investment banking and corporate cash management and worked at Inc. and CFO Zone.
Senate to Vote on Online Tax
The Senate is planning to vote on a bill as soon as Monday that would give
states the authority to collect sales taxes on all Internet purchases, handing
local governments as much as $11 billion per year in added revenue that
they are legally owed — but that hasn’t been paid to them for years.
2012 Global Ad Spend Up 3.2%
Nielsen: Global Ad Spend Closes Out 2012 Up 3.2%: According to Nielsen’s quarterly Global AdView Pulse report (Q4 2012), global advertising spending rose 3.2% in 2012 with global advertising totaling USD 557 billion.
Nielsen reports globally, advertisers gravitated towards television advertising in 2012 and pulled away from newspapers and magazines.
Television advertising (62.8%) commanded the majority of global ad spend. The next largest ad spend was newspapers (19.5%), followed by magazine ad spend (5.2%)
Nielsen reports globally, advertisers gravitated towards television advertising in 2012 and pulled away from newspapers and magazines.
Television advertising (62.8%) commanded the majority of global ad spend. The next largest ad spend was newspapers (19.5%), followed by magazine ad spend (5.2%)
Friday, April 19, 2013
Catalyst Paper Announces CEO's Departure
Catalyst Paper Announces CEO's Departure:Catalyst Paper's President and CEO Kevin J. Clarke will step down from his position later this spring. Clarke has advised Catalyst’s Board of Directors that, with the company’s recent financial restructuring successfully completed, the time is right for a leadership transition.
Lederer also added Clarke's printing and publishing industry experience was also helpful in advancing product and market development objectives, and served to put Catalyst on better footing to address the ongoing challenges of the fiercely competitive paper and pulp industry. Clarke will continue in his role for an interim period through June 2013 to assist in a smooth transition. He plans to return to his home in New York State, where his family resides. A search for his successor is underway.
Lederer also added Clarke's printing and publishing industry experience was also helpful in advancing product and market development objectives, and served to put Catalyst on better footing to address the ongoing challenges of the fiercely competitive paper and pulp industry. Clarke will continue in his role for an interim period through June 2013 to assist in a smooth transition. He plans to return to his home in New York State, where his family resides. A search for his successor is underway.
Domar Announces Fluff Pulp Increase
Domtar
informed customers in key global markets today that it will increase fluff pulp
prices by $40/tonne, effective May 1 until further notice.
Domtar
told customers the $40/tonne increase on fluff would raise its list price to
$960/tonne in North America, Europe, and South America, industry contacts said.
Domtar's Espanola Asks for Tax Help
The change means the town owes the company $4 million in back taxes and will lose about $1 million each year from its tax base.
Town Questions Great Northern About PM 11
Town leaders will seek reassurances
that the No. 11 paper machine will stay in place at the inactive Katahdin
Avenue mill when they meet with Cate Street Capital officials later this month,
they said Wednesday.
Town
Council Chairman John Davis said that besides an update on the company's plans,
which usually comes once or twice annually, councilors hope to quell rumors
about the machine's permanence and introduce company officials to the town's
new manager, Peggy Daigle. No meeting date has been set.
Card Industry, Mail Carriers Lobby for Postal Reform
U.S. Card Industry, Mail Carriers Flex Muscle in Postal Service Debate: The U.S. lobbying forces that defeated a Postal Service plan to end Saturday delivery to reduce its annual deficit are now using their Capitol Hill clout to pass a law to make six-day delivery mandatory.
At a hearing on Wednesday before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, the president of the National Association of Letter Carriers urged lawmakers to write six-day delivery into law.
A bill mandating six-day delivery begun in the Oversight Committee in January has gained momentum and now boasts 175 cosponsors. It is yet another sign of the growing influence of interest groups and postal employee unions who constitute a powerful lobbying force on Capitol Hill.
The group, which includes lobbyists for greeting card companies, the newspaper industry and letter carriers unions, spent more than $1 million last year to thwart the Postal Service's plan.
At a hearing on Wednesday before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, the president of the National Association of Letter Carriers urged lawmakers to write six-day delivery into law.
A bill mandating six-day delivery begun in the Oversight Committee in January has gained momentum and now boasts 175 cosponsors. It is yet another sign of the growing influence of interest groups and postal employee unions who constitute a powerful lobbying force on Capitol Hill.
The group, which includes lobbyists for greeting card companies, the newspaper industry and letter carriers unions, spent more than $1 million last year to thwart the Postal Service's plan.
MediaPost Mag Bag
Peggy Northrop has been named editor-in-chief of Sunset, Time Inc. announced this week. Northrop’s appointment is effective April 22. This is Northrop’s second stint at Time Inc., having earlier served as deputy editor of Real Simple...
Laura Rowley is joining Meredith Corp.’s National Media Group as vice president for video production and product. In her new role she will be responsible for overseeing Meredith’s digital video operations across its entire brand portfolio, including Better Homes and Gardens, Parents and Fitness...
Meredith Xcelerated Marketing has named Matt Turnbull managing director for new business and marketing at MXM Mobile...
Ethan Grey has been promoted to the position of senior vice-president for digital strategy and initiatives at the MPA – The Association of Magazine Media...and more...
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