Monday, January 28, 2013

AF&PA Reports P&W 2012 Numbers

http://www.afandpa.org/
The American Forest & Paper Association has released its December 2012 Printing-Writing Paper Report. According to the report, total printing-writing paper shipments decreased 9 percent in December compared to December 2011. For the year of 2012, printing-writing and related paper shipments were 4.6 percent below the 2011 level. All four of the major printing-writing grades posted decreases compared to last December, with inventory levels increasing in November, led by double-digit increases in mechanical grade papers.
Additional key findings:
December shipments of coated mechanical (CM) papers decreased 10 percent compared to December 2011 and 5 percent for the year.
December shipments of coated free sheet (CFS) papers decreased 7 percent when compared to December 2011 and were down 3 percent for the year in 2012. Year-to-date imports of CFS through November were down 12 percent compared to the 11-month period in 2011.
Uncoated free sheet (UFS) papers shipments decreased 7 percent compared to December. Annual purchases of UFS papers for the year were down 4 percent compared to 2011. Year-to-date UFS imports are up 4 percent in 2012 compared to same 11 months in 2011.
December uncoated mechanical (UM) paper shipments decreased 27 percent when compared to December 2011, with annual shipments 17 percent below 2011 levels.

EURO-GRAPH Reports 2012 Coated, SC Results

http://www.euro-graph.org/publicms/index/view 
EURO-GRAPH reported European coated mechanical paper shipments fell -7.3% in 2012, as compard to the previous year. December shipments decreased -13.1%. Demand was down -9% for the year, -16% for the month, and exports declined -1.5% and -3%. Coated woodfree shipments fell -2.9% in 2012 and -9.6% in December. Demand was down -3.6% for the year and -12.9% for the month. Exports rose +0.1% and +1.5%. Supercalendered paper shipments declined -5% in 2012 and -9.7% in December. Demand decreased -3.7% for the year and -10.2% for the month. Exports fell -10.4% and -7.3%.

New Financing for Great Northern Paper

Enhanced Community Development, a subsidiary of Enhanced Capital Partners ("Enhanced Capital"), announced today it recently participated in providing $50 million in New Market Tax Credit financing to the Great Northern Paper Mill ("GNP") in East Millinocket, Maine, which includes $40 million in Maine New Market Capital Investment tax credits and $10 million in Federal New Market Tax Credits.
This investment will be used for capital improvements at GNP which will result in up to 50 new jobs at the mill by the end of the year, plus more than 100 new indirect jobs in related industries including logging, forestry, and trucking. The plant upgrades include a conversion from oil to clean-burning natural gas, a 30% increase in annual production capacity, and a complete overhaul of the grinder room.

AF&PA Reports Dec. Recovered Paper Numbers

http://www.afandpa.org/ 
The American Forest & Paper Association released its December 2012 U.S. Recovered Fiber Monthly Report on Jan. 24.
According to the report, total U.S. industry consumption of recovered paper in December was 2.38 million tons, less than 1 percent higher than in November. Receipts decreased for most grades and, coupled with the flat consumption, caused across-the-board decreases in inventories. Total consumption in 2012 was 3 percent lower than in 2011.
U.S. exports of recovered paper in November dropped off 4 percent from the strong October figures, though they were still 4 percent higher than November 2011. Total exports of recovered paper in 2012 were 5 percent lower than in 2011.

Moody's: European Paper Co.s Must Diversify

Ratings agency’s report says European paper companies should look to nonpaper operations and emerging markets to drive long-term growth and protect profits MOODY’s released a "special comment" report on Thursday saying European paper companies could safeguard growth and profits by diversifying away from paper markets.
The ratings agency said despite declining paper volumes, diversification would enable European paper and forest-product companies to restore long-term profitability and strengthen their credit profiles.

China's 2012 RCP Imports Up 10.2%, Pulp Rises 14.8%

China's total recovered paper (RCP) imports grew 4.5% to around 2.687 million tonnes in December 2012, up from some 2.570 million tonnes in November, according to data from China Customs.
December's figure was 3.8% lower than the 2.792 million tonnes recorded in the same month in 2011.   
RCP imports totaled over 30.066 million tonnes in 2012, up 10.2% from the preceding year. The intake in 2011 totaled just over 27.280 million tonnes.

China's total pulp imports fell 1.3% last December compared to the previous month, to nearly 1.394 million tonnes, according to data from China Customs.
The December drop, which came following an increase of 3.8% in November from October, was attributed largely to a decline of 6.8% in bleached softwood kraft (BSK) pulp imports. 
Pulp imports for 2012 totaled around 16.462 million tonnes, a surge of 14.8% from 2011, which came in at 14.340 million tonnes.

Paper Excellence & Union Reach Agreement

Howe Sound Pulp and Paper (HSPP) has reached a new collective agreement with Local 1119 of the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union (CEP).
The five-year contract was set to go before the CEP membership yesterday (Jan. 24) for a ratification vote, union local president Don Rheaume said Monday, Jan. 21.

Alberta-Pacific Announces Pulp Price Hike

Alberta-Pacific (Alpac) announced Friday that its northern bleached hardwood kraft (NBHK) pulp price would increase in North America and China, effective February 1 until further notice.
Alpac Pulp Sales told customers that its aspen grade NBHK price would be $790/tonne in North America.

Barnes & Noble Closing 1/3 of Stores

Barnes & Noble has put up an excellent fight over the past few years against the rising tide of digital competitors like iPad, Kindle Fire, etc. 
But it would seem that the bookseller has still come up a bit short, as the Wall Street Journal reports that the company has plans to shut down nearly 20 stores per year over the course of the next decade.

Number of Magazines on Tablets

How many magazines are being sold on the tablets?
This seems like it would be an elementary question, one covered far and wide. But, my research tells me that this information does not exist out there in any accessible way. So, how did I compile it?
Remember when you used to have to count on your fingers to figure out things? That’s basically what I did. I went to three different tablets, found digital magazines, and added them up. 
Here’s what it looks like more or less today (counts were all made in January 2013)...

Hearst Titles on iPad Before Print

Magazine publisher Hearst is taking a unique approach to tablet publishing by offering the tablet edition before the print version becomes available.
Hearst's decision applies to subscriptions and single copies of magazines. 
Hearst says that all 22 of its magazines will become available on Apple’s Newsstand "days" before the print editions are published, with this headstart apparently varying by publication.

2013 Retail Sales Forecast to Grow 3.4%

The National Retail Federation released its 2013 economic forecast today, projecting retail industry sales (which exclude automobiles, gas stations, and restaurants) will increase 3.4 percent*, slightly less than the preliminary 4.2 percent growth seen in 2012. The subdued forecast comes on the heels of a holiday season that went head-to-head with Washington’s political wrangling over fiscal concerns, shifting consumers’ spending plans downward.  In the end, holiday sales in 2012 grew 3.0 percent.

79.8% of Consumer Use Coupons

Consumers' expectations for value in their purchasing decisions remained strong throughout 2012. NCH's August 2012 Consumer Survey found that 79.8% of consumers regularly shop using CPG coupons, very similar to the 80.6% prior year result, and well above the 63.6% who reported regularly using coupons in the pre-recession 2007 study. Digital coupons represent less than 1% of all coupons distributed.

B-to-B Marketers Concerns with Data Quality

Study: B-to-b marketers struggle with data quality:
More than 60% of companies work with unreliable contact data that may be negatively affecting marketing and sales efforts, according to a study by marketing list-building company NetProspex Inc.