Monday, November 12, 2012

Details Nova Scotia/Port Hawkesbury Agreement

Nova Scotia releases details of its Crown land agreement with Port Hawkesbury Paper:
The province of Nova Scotia has released a redacted version of its Crown Land agreement with Port Hawkesbury Paper today.

40,500 mt NBSK Removed from Market

Domtar shuttered its Kamloops market northern bleached softwood kraft (NBSK) pulp mill in British Columbia and Mercer International idled its Stendal NBSK mill in Germany for annual maintenance work in October, according to industry sources and the firms.
Domtar shut down its 477,000 tonnes/yr NBSK mill in British Columbia from October 15-25 for annual maintenance work. The mill, which reportedly did upgrades and general repairs during the downtime, shed an estimated 13,000 tonnes of market NBSK output.
Mercer meantime took the largest market NBSK mill in its system - the 645,000 tonnes/yr Stendal facility - down for 10 days of annual maintenance downtime in October. The scheduled downtime trimmed an estimated 17,500 tonnes of market NBSK output.

Catalyst Extends Deadline for Elk Falls Sale

Catalyst Paper extends deadline to close sale of Elk Falls site to Pacifica Deep Sea Terminals Inc.: Catalyst Paper announced that it has received partial pre-payment of the $8.6 million purchase price for the Elk Falls site in Campbell River from Pacifica Deep Sea Terminals Incorporated. The transaction includes the 400-acre industrial site and adjacent properties.
Catalyst has also agreed to grant the purchaser an extension to complete the sale. Progress continues to be made on all outstanding terms and conditions.
Sale of the property is the final step in a comprehensive site preparation and sales process which began following the permanent closure of the paper mill in 2010.

UPM Building World's First Renewable Diesel Biorefinery

The construction of the world's first biorefinery producing wood-based renewable diesel in Lappeenranta is running according to schedule. The foundation stone of UPM Lappeenranta Biorefinery will be encased today. Construction began last summer and the biorefinery will start producing renewable diesel made from tall oil in 2014.
"The EUR 150 million investment to Lappeenranta is UPM's spearhead project and the first step on our way to becoming a significant producer of advanced second generation biofuels. The Biorefinery is also a focal part in the realisation of our Biofore strategy, combining the bio and forest industries," says UPM President and CEO Jussi Pesonen.

AF&PA Better Practices, Better Planet Awards

The American Forest & Paper Association (AF&PA) presented its first ever Better Practices, Better Planet 2020 Sustainability Awards at the association's annual meeting on Friday, Nov. 9 in Scottsdale, Ariz.
2012 Better Practices, Better Planet 2020 Sustainability Award Winners
Leaders in Sustainability - Energy Efficiency/Greenhouse Gas Reduction (Large Company)
Georgia-Pacific: "Improving Energy Efficiency"
International Paper: "Climate Leadership Initiative"
Leaders in Sustainability - Energy Efficiency/Greenhouse Gas Reduction (Small Company)
Thilmany Papers: "Energy and Water Restructuring Program"
Leaders in Sustainability - Safety
International Paper: "It's about...LIFE"
Leaders in Sustainability - Water
MWV: "Mahrt Mill Water and Energy Reduction Project"
Innovation in Sustainability
Green Bay Packaging: "Fiber Reclaim Project"

RRD Awarded Contract by Scotiabank

RR Donnelley Awarded Multiyear Print Management Contract by Scotiabank: CHICAGO—Nov. 12, 2012—R. R. Donnelley & Sons has been awarded a multiyear print management agreement by Scotiabank that renews and expands the companies’ relationship. Scotiabank is a leading multinational financial services provider and Canada's most international bank.

Ikea Unveils Catalog

The Ikea United States division plans to announce on Monday: the first of Ikea’s new catalogs, timed for holiday shopping, is an initiative centered on what executives call their first interactive seasonal catalog.
The 31-page catalog, known as Celebrate Brilliantly, is being introduced in time for Thanksgiving and the Christmas shopping season.

Walgreen's Launches Magazine

Walgreens announced the launch of "Happy And Healthy, Your Guide To Living Well With Walgreens," a bi-annual magazine focusing on healthy living tips, relevant offers and Balance Rewards loyalty program promotions. The book will also showcase its private brands.
The premiere edition debuts on Nov.4, in English and Spanish. Each issue is divided into three sections: Health and Wellness, Food and Beverage, and Beauty.
The magazine will be inserted into Sunday newspapers and be available in-stores nationwide. An electronic version can be viewed online at Walgreens.com, and the total circulation is expected to reach approximately 65 million.

Bergdorf Goodman Holiday Catalog Targets Affluent Homes

Bergdorf Goodman Reaches Affluent Homes Via Holiday Catalog: New York-based department store Bergdorf Goodman is looking to boost holiday sales through a direct mail catalog meant to lure affluent recipients to the in-store experience. The holiday catalog promotes the retailer’s exclusive gifts for fans of the Bergdorf lifestyle and features brands such as Cadillac, Alexander McQueen, Tom Ford and Valentino. It includes gifts for men, women, children and the home in a 68-page print catalog.

Rolling Stone Courts Hispanic Market

Rolling Stone Courts Hispanic Market, Spanish Speakers With Latest Issue:
Rolling Stone is trying to get closer to the Hispanic market by introducing Spanish-language advertisements and a secondary Spanish-language cover on the back of its November 22 issue.
As the U.S. Latino population continues to soar, the need to actively court this demographic does as well. Here, FOLIO: checks in with Matt Mastrangelo, publisher of Rolling Stone (pictured below left), to get the details on this new focus for his brand and the industry at large.

Reed Elsevier Plan Pays Off

PUBLISHING giant Reed Elsevier showed yesterday that a plan to dispose of most of its print operations is paying off, as it said all aspects of its business had grown in 2012.
The FTSE 100 firm got rid of Hollywood magazine Variety this year, and has sold other trade publications such as Publishers Weekly in a bid to hive off parts of the firm that rely on advertising. However, it is holding on to the successful New Scientist.
The remaining Reed Elsevier divisions, including research service LexisNexis and the Gray’s Anatomy medical textbook, drove the company to a four per cent rise in underlying revenue in the nine months to October.
The firm’s exhibitions business, which hosts international trade fairs, saw 15 per cent growth, while its financial data publishing operations also put in a strong showing.

Kantar, ZenithOptimedia, Nielsen: Moderate Growth in 2012


According to Kantar, total U.S. ad spending plunged from $158.2 billion in 2007 to $142.9 billion in 2008 and a low of $125.3 billion in 2009, for consecutive annual declines of 9.7% and 12.3%, respectively.
As the economy bottomed out and slowly began to recover, ad spending edged up 4.6% to $131.1 billion in 2010, then jumped 9.8% to $144 billion in 2011. But the rate of growth slowed considerably in the last year. Kantar is currently forecasting 2.2% growth to around $147 billion in 2012 -- still 7% short of its 2007 level.
ZenithOptimedia pegs total U.S. ad spending at $177.6 billion in 2007, $172.5 billion in 2008, $157 billion in 2009, and $151.7 billion in 2010 (which puts the low point a year later than Kantar), for consecutive annual declines of 2.9%, 9%, and 3.4% over this period. In 2011 ad spending increased 1.6% to $154.2 billion, according to ZO, followed by a forecast 4.3% increase to $161 billion in 2012 -- 9.3% below 2007.
Nielsen’s figures for total U.S. ad spending follow a similar arc, from $140.5 billion in 2007 to $136.8 billion in 2008 and $117 billion in 2009, for consecutive annual declines of 2.4% and 14.5%. Ad spending edged up 5.6% to $123.6 billion in 2010, then eked out 2% growth to $126.1 billion in 2011. If Nielsen’s figures for the first three quarters of 2012 are good indicators, 2012 might see growth of up to 4%.

China: World's Largest Economy by 2016

China, India and the rest of the developing world will eclipse the west in a dramatic shift in the balance of economic power over the next 50 years, according to research by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).
The next five decades will see major changes in country sharesDescription: http://images.intellitxt.com/ast/adTypes/icon1.png in global output. The Paris-based thinktank's Looking to 2060: Long-Term Global Growth Prospects report uses a new economic model which forecasts that China will overtake the eurozone in 2012 and the US within the next four years to become the largest economy in the world. India is in the process of overtaking Japan and is forecast to pass the eurozone in about 20 years.

USPS Promotion for Online Merchants

USPS offering QR promotion to online merchants: The U.S. Postal Service is offering a postage discount through Nov. 21 to online merchants that include 2-D barcodes as part of their direct-mail campaigns.
The promotion, giving marketers a 2% discount on first-class and standard-mail postage, is designed to spur mobile purchasing by putting mobile-optimized promotional offers, coupons and catalogs into customers' hands in time for Black Friday and Cyber Monday, the traditional shopping days that follow Thanksgiving.