Convert to PDFRecent trade developments have seen logs from some Australian states be banned from import to China. Despite being very significant for Australia, considered from the perspective of mainland China’s total imports, the Australian supply is not as compelling as some may think. In the September quarter, Australia’s softwood… Read More
Woodchip Market: Australian exports remain low, but prices are solid
Convert to PDFAustralia’s total woodchip exports totalled 368,140 bdmt in September (bone dried metric tonnes), up 28.2% compared with the prior month. Exports remain at near rock-bottom levels as the reluctance to supply at discounted prices continues. The market situation is locked in for at least the next three to… Read More
A4 White Copy Paper: import prices fall to 27 month low
Convert to PDFImports of A4 White Copy Paper to Australia continued to decay in September 2020, with the average Australian price falling to a twenty-seven month low of AUDFob1,194/t. Compared to September 2019, the average import price was 11.2% lower. Monthly import volumes have been quite volatile over 2020, with… Read More
Tissue: Panic buying not just a local phenomenon
Convert to PDFPanic buying, hoarding or establishing a ‘personal inventory’, however you want to describe it, the buying of tissue – especially toilet paper – has been a strange feature of the 2020 pandemic. In most countries – Australia and New Zealand are good examples – the only reason there… Read More
No place to hide: global publication paper agony is widespread
Convert to PDFLatest global data confirms there is no ‘safe haven’ for the global printing and communication paper sector. All regions are facing similar, massive challenges. The sector is responding with closures, conversions, and with weary experience. Data from the midst of the pandemic – in the second quarter of… Read More
End of the party: recovered paper shipments to China lift ahead of ban
Convert to PDFAfter falling almost continuously since late 2018, Australia’s exports of recovered paper to mainland China have surged in recent months. After totalling just 7.9 kt in May, shipments lifted to a nineteen-month high of 44.5 kt in September, ahead of the outright import ban that commences January 2021. Read More
Kraftliner exports fall below 400,000 tonnes: lowest in a decade
Convert to PDFAustralia’s exports of Kraftliner fell to 394.8 kt year-ended September, their lowest level in more than a decade and 5.6% lower than over the prior year. In September, exports totalled 27.7 kt, with the average export price declining to a 42 month low of AUDFob751/t. Australian Annualised Kraftliner… Read More
RCPs: China’s last hurrah – exports to China hit eighteen month high
Convert to PDFChina will cease all imports of recyclable materials – including recovered paper – on 1st January 2021. Since the announcement was confirmed, importers have done all they can to access quality fibre. As a result, September exports from Australia, destined for China, lifted to an eighteen-month high of… Read More
Economics: Why ‘hours worked’ is so important to advertising (but worry about it after Christmas)
Convert to PDFThe hours Australia is working have plunged in the recession, reducing household incomes, making families tentative and resulting in many people saving instead of spending. Retailers, already under serious pressure, are more aware of this, and that is bad news for advertising, especially in early 2021. Right now,… Read More
Pulp Market: Tentative price rises start up-cycle, in China at least
Convert to PDFTentative price rises start the up cycle for pulp: in China at least Pulp prices have begun to move up in China, with indications that the new up cycle has genuinely commenced. Bleached Softwood Kraft (BSK) pulp prices were flat or just moving up in October, but prices… Read More