AF&PA Reports P&W Paper June Shipments

http://www.afandpa.org/
The American Forest & Paper Association has released its June 2013 Printing-Writing Paper Report.
According to the report, total printing-writing paper shipments were down 7 percent compared to June 2012, with total inventory levels increasing 4 percent from May.
Additional key findings:

Coated mechanical (CM) shipments in June decreased 16 percent compared to June 2012. Shipments of CM are down 13 percent for the year, with imports down 3 percent year-over-year in May.

June shipments of coated free sheet (CFS) papers decreased 4 percent compared to June 2012, with year-to-date CFS shipments down less than 1 percent compared to 2012. U.S. imports of CFS papers increased 7 percent year-over-year in May. 
Uncoated free sheet (UFS) paper shipments decreased 3% year-over-year in June. For the year, shipments are down 4 percent in 2013. Imports of UFS in May increased 6 percent compared to May 2012, with exports of UFS up 5 percent. 
June uncoated mechanical (UM) paper shipments decreased 16 percent when compared to June 2012, with year-over-year imports through May up 1 percent. UM exports are up 12 percent in 2013 compared to the first five months of 2012.

EURO-GRAPH Reports June, H1 Numbers

EURO-GRAPH has reported European coated mechanical paper shipments in June fell -8.8% as compared to the same month last year and declined -8.2% in the first half of 2013 as compared to H1 2102. Demand was down -9.4% for the month and -8.2% for H1. Exports decreased -6.8% for June and -8% in the first six months of the year.
Coated woodfree paper shipments fell -11% in June and -6.4% in H1. Demand decreased -11.3% for the month and -8.9% for the first six months of the year. Exports were down -11.7% in June, but rose +1.7% for H1.
Supercalendered paper shipments declined -12.1% in June and -6.1% in the first six months. Demand fell -9.8% for the month and -4.4% for H1. Exports decreased -20.2% in June and -14.2% in Hi.
Uncoated woodfree shipments were down -7.3% in June and -3.8% for the first six months of the year. Demand fell -9.6% for the month and -5.4% for Hi. Exports increased +15.3% for June and +10.4% for the first six months.

Domtar Reports Q2 Results

http://www.domtar.com/

Domtar Corporation today reported a net loss of $46 million ($1.38 per share) for the second quarter of 2013 compared to net earnings of $45 million ($1.29 per share) for the first quarter of 2013 and net earnings of $59 million ($1.61 per share) for the second quarter of 2012. Sales for the second quarter of 2013 amounted to $1,312 million.

International Paper Reports Q2 Results

http://www.paperage.com/2013news/07_25_2013international_paper_earnings.html

International Paper (IP) today reported second quarter 2013 net earnings attributable to common shareholders totaling $259 million ($0.57 per share) compared with net earnings of $318 million ($0.71 per share), in the first quarter of 2013 and $134 million ($0.31 per share) in the second quarter of 2012. Amounts in all periods include the impact of special items.

Operating Earnings were $288 million ($0.64 per share) in the second quarter of 2013, compared with $292 million ($0.65 per share) in the first quarter of 2013 and $232 million ($0.53 per share) in the second quarter of 2012.
Quarterly net sales were $7.3 billion compared with $7.1 billion in the first quarter of 2013 and $7.1 billion in the second quarter of 2012.

Two Sides Survey: Paper Option for Bills Still Valued

http://www.paperage.com/2013news/07_25_2013two_sides_paper_documents.html

In an international survey from Two Sides carried out by research company Toluna, 2,500 consumers were asked their opinion on a variety of billing and statement related issues with a focus on the present supplier pressure to switch to electronic bills and statements; ‘e-billing'.

Key Findings

60% of consumers state they would not choose a company which did not offer a paper bill. 
12% of consumers and 20% of 25 - 34 year olds, say they have switched to a new provider when a charge for paper based bills was imposed. 
8% of consumers and 16% of 25 - 34 year olds, say they have switched providers because paper bills were withdrawn. 
57% of consumers overall, 66% of 18 - 25 year olds, and 60% of 25 -34 year olds, believe a paper bill option is still quite or very important when choosing a new supplier. 
93% of consumers say they are unwilling to pay for paper bills. 
89% of consumers want to be able to switch between paper and e-bills without difficulty and cost 
42% prefer to receive financial services bills by post only and 37% prefer to receive utility bills by post only. For financial services, post is the preferred option overall. 
21% of consumers would refuse to switch to electronic bills and statements when asked to do so. 
69% of consumers say that postal bills offer better record keeping and 65% say they are easier to check. 48% state that postal bills offer more security and 46% say bills and statements printed on paper are easier to read than off a screen. 
38% of consumers are clearly ‘home printers' with 26% printing up to 20% of their bills and 7% printing out between 80% and 100% of their bills.

Sequana Reports H1 Results

http://www.appletoncoated.com/

http://www.sequana.com/en/

http://www.arjowiggins.com 
Sales down 9% to €1,799 million, reflecting marked drop in volumes for printing papers

EBITDA down to €59 million from €79 million for first-half 2012, reflecting lower demand and pressure on selling prices;
EBITDA margin down 0.7 points to 3.3%Antalis: Resilient operating performance and EBITDA margin thanks to steady prices, enhanced product mix and reductions in overheadsArjowiggins: Decline in earnings due to lower volumes of printing papers amid pressure on selling prices and product mixNet loss of €36 million 
Finalisation of agreements to extend the Group's credit facilities through 30 November 2015 with more flexible financial covenants to reflect the current business climate

GAO Finds ‘No Consensus’ as New Legislation Proceeds

A federal agency offered no clear guidance on approved legislation that could eliminate requirements for paper labeling to be included with pharmaceuticals. The US General Accounting Office (GAO) said it found "no consensus among stakeholders on the advantages and disadvantages of eliminating paper labeling and relying instead on electronic labeling as a complete substitute."
The GAO report follows approval of the Safeguarding America's Pharmaceuticals Act of 2013 -- H.R. 1919 -- by the House of Representatives, and the Drug Supply Chain Security Act -- S. 957 -- by the Senate. A committee will reconcile the differences in the two bills. The Senate version did not include the paper labeling language.
GAO reported that drug industry stakeholders said an advantage of electronic labeling provides physicians, pharmacists and patients with the most current drug information in a more user-friendly format, which would positively impact public health. Yet relying on electronic labeling as a complete substitute for paper labeling could adversely impact public health by limiting the availability of drug labeling for some physicians, pharmacists, and patients by requiring them to access drug labeling through a medium with which they might be uncomfortable, that they might find inconvenient, or that might be unavailable.
"Relying on electronic drug labeling as a complete substitute for paper drug labeling would require amending or reviewing relevant federal regulations and shift some responsibilities from drug manufacturers to pharmacies," GAO stated. "Additionally, drug manufacturers currently provide pharmacies with a supply of paper labeling for patients. However, stakeholders said that if patients want to continue receiving drug labeling in paper form and pharmacies are expected to print drug labeling for distribution, it would shift the costs of printing to the pharmacies." In 2011, retail pharmacies filled approximately 3.8 billion prescriptions for drugs, the report added.
Officials from paper industry states objected to the paper label exemption saying it would harm the industry and mills that employ thousands of workers.

Ten Years of Commercial Printing Process Shifts

http://blogs.whattheythink.com/economics/2013/07/ten-years-of-commercial-printing-process-shifts/

Earlier this year, the Commerce Department issued its report Annual Survey of Manufactures. It is intended to provide industry data for the years where there is no Economic Census. The Census is conducted every five years and concerns years ending in -2 or -7. The 2007 Census is woefully out of date, probably more than any other Census in my lifetime, with the great volatility of the financial crisis on top of all of the technological changes since that year. Social media had barely started in 2007, and the broad adoption of tablets and smartphones were basically just ideas understood by computer geeks and early adopters.  The 2011 ASM is probably the last time we will see any detailed reporting about our industry from the Commerce Department. Because printing’s share of GDP has decreased so much, the Commerce Department will not expend its resources to collect detailed data about us, and reallocates its efforts elsewhere.

Revenues Up for Meredith’s Magazine Group

http://ipdahome.org/newsstand/?cat=296

http://www.foliomag.com/2013/revenues-meredith-s-magazine-group#.UfGHeFOYyKw

Revenues were up for Meredith's National Media Group in its fiscal year 2013 earnings report, as the company saw big returns from digital advertising and continued success with its Sales Guarantee program. Recent acquisitions skewed the results however.

The company's overall revenues were up 7 percent year-over-year to $1.5 billion, with operating profits ahead 13 percent to $211 million.
Meredith's National Media Group, which includes its magazine properties and makes up about three quarters of the company's total earnings, saw revenues rise 3 percent to $1.1 billion, while margins went up 4 percent to $138 million.

Rodale Seeks President, COO

http://www.adweek.com/news/press/maria-rodale-seeks-president-coo-rodale-151412

Four years into her run as CEO of health and fitness publisher Rodale, Maria Rodale is looking to bring in both a president and COO help to run the 83-year-old family-controlled company.

In an email to staff, Maria Rodale said that the president would take care of the day-to-day business while the COO would deal with increasing efficiency and technology matters. But Rodale insisted that she would continue to be “very active” at the company. "As I’ve said to the core team, rest assured that I’m not stepping back, I’m stepping forward. I’m ready to grow, too!" she wrote.

Folio: People on the Move

http://www.foliomag.com/2013/people-move-7-25-13#.UfGCflOYyKw

TheStreet announced that Ron Kost, Michael McCormack, Andrew Freedman and John Ferraro have joined the advertising sales team as directors of advertising sales.

Ron Kost worked with startup and blue chip media companies for many years and spent the past four years with new media companies like GigaOM media and PSN Inc.
Michael McCormack has held positions with ALM, Forbes and Banner Direct. 
Andrew Freedman has more than 14 years of digital media sales experience. He previously represented Sojern, LinkedIn, bizjournals and Forbes.com. He joins TheStreet from Adara. 
John Ferraro is joining TheStreet from Seeking Alpha. He previously worked at Nasdaq.com as sales director and The Deal LLC as associate publisher.

Penton Buys Aviation Week

http://www.foliomag.com/2013/penton-buys-aviation-week-mcgraw-hill#.UfGB51OYyKw

McGraw Hill Financial has sold Aviation Week to Penton in an all-cash deal. The transaction is part of McGraw Hill Financial's ongoing effort to divest "non-core" assets and position itself as a financial intelligence company.
The acquisition, the third for Penton since 2010, was conducted privately and not through an auction process.
For its part, Penton plans to house Aviation Week in its existing Aviation Group, consisting of six core brands including Air Transport World, Speed News and Airportdata.com.

Door-to-Door, Sat. Delivery Closer to Getting Axe

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/07/24/house-committee-votes-to-limit-postal-service-home-delivery/2584377/

Door-to-door service and Saturday mail delivery, long hallmarks of the U.S. Postal Service, are a step closer to being phased out.

The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Wednesday approved a measure that would end door-to-door delivery to 37 million residences and businesses and Saturday mail service to more than 150 million homes and businesses.
Ending door-to-door delivery — which will force millions to get mail at curbside boxes or neighborhood cluster boxes by 2022 — would save up to $4.5 billion annually, said Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif. Ending Saturday service — a proposal that was met with widespread criticism when it was first proposed in 2012 — could save an additional $2 billion a year.
"A balanced approach to saving the Postal Service means allowing USPS to adapt to America's changing use of mail,'' said Issa, the bill's sponsor and chairman of the committee. "Done right, these reforms can improve the customer experience through a more efficient Postal Service."

B-to-B CEOs More Confident

http://www.btobonline.com/article/20130725/MEDIABUSINESS10/307259999/b-to-b-media-ceos-more-confident-about-economy

B-to-b media CEOs are more optimistic about business conditions for their own companies and the markets they serve than they were six months ago, according to American Business Media's July 2013 CEO Confidence Index.
Sixty-six percent of b-to-b media CEOs surveyed for the latest report said current business conditions for their companies are positive, compared with 58% in January. Looking ahead 12 months, 75% of respondents said they anticipate better business conditions next year, compared with 60% who had positive expectations in the January survey.
CEOs' optimism is more tempered when it comes to the market conditions of their reader customers. In the latest survey, 44% expressed a positive outlook, while half were neutral. In January, only 37% of CEOs reported positive economic conditions, and 56% assessed conditions as neutral.

$105 Billion Global Cross-Border Shopping Market

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/paypal-unveils-the-modern-spice-routes-2013-07-22

Cross-border payments between six key markets expected to grow 200% by 2018.

With the global economy still struggling, businesses and exporters can help increase their revenue by waking up to cross-border sales opportunities as revealed by new PayPal and Nielsen data released today.

The report titled 'Modern Spice Routes: The Cultural Impact of Cross-Border Shopping' analyzes cross-border online shopping and spending behavior in six major markets -- the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, Australia, mainland China and Brazil. It maps for the first time the new spice routes -- those corridors of online trade between consumers buying directly from merchants in different parts of the world. The research report and video testimonials are available for download at www.paypal.com/spiceroutes.