Convert to PDFAustralia’s imports of corrugating medium – including semi-chemical fluting – fell a sizeable 31% year-ended May 2021, declining to 32,644 tonnes. Despite the sharp fall in volumes, the average import price was just 0.5% lower than a year earlier, declining to AUDFob649/t. Corrugating medium imports are a little… Read More
Regional production capacity: 3.8 Mt
Convert to PDFCombined Australian and New Zealand regional production capacity sits just short of 3.8 million tonnes of paper and board in mid-2021. The reduction of around 150,000 tonnes per annum, resulting from the Tasman (Norske Skog) closure at the end of June, would have been worse, if not for… Read More
Australia’s oldest existing paper mill: window to the past
Convert to PDFThough it has not been in operation for many long years, Australia’s oldest paper mill is still standing, on the banks of the Barwon River at Fyansford, just outside Geelong in Victoria. Constructed from 1876-78, the mill’s bluestone and brick buildings are still in place, as are the… Read More
Quarterly Price Indexes: modest growth in May
Convert to PDFLatest detailed paper trade price indexes showed some uptick in May, with three month moving average prices either stable or displaying modest growth. The price indexes for two grades, LWC <60gsm and MWC > 55% dropped, but each by a very small amount, 0.3% and 0.2% respectively. Because… Read More
Price Index: Regional printing paper prices fall – down 2.2% in May
Convert to PDFThe Australian and New Zealand three-month moving average trade price of printing and communication papers* decreased by 2.2% in May 2021, compared with the prior month. Measured in US dollars, the quarterly average price was USDFob805/t, a decrease of USD17/t on the prior month. On an annualised basis,… Read More
Woodchip Market Briefing: Chip exports down in May after big April
Convert to PDFAustralia’s woodchip exports slipped back in May, totalling 248.5 kbdmt (bone dried metric tonnes). Exporters appeared to be replenishing their stocks after exports in April lifted sharply and almost all export facilities were active in the market. Evidence of that includes just eleven vessels recorded leaving Australia in… Read More
Pulp Market: What goes up… this time at least
Convert to PDFGlobal pulp prices receded sharply in June, sliding back to what may prove to be sustainable levels. The differential or spread between the two major market pulps narrowed to a more realistic USD145/t, as the price concessions bit deep into Bleached Softwood Kraft (BSK) prices, with more muted… Read More
Economics: Population, migration and the long-term
Convert to PDFAustralia’s population growth has, for the most part, been the driver of national economic growth over most of the last decade. That is, per capita consumption and expenditure has been pretty much stable, and the country has relied on additional people to see the economy grow in any… Read More
Australia’s oldest existing paper mill: window to the past
Convert to PDFThough it has not been in operation for many long years, Australia’s oldest paper mill is still standing, on the banks of the Barwon River at Fyansford, just outside Geelong in Victoria. Constructed from 1876-78, the mill’s bluestone and brick buildings are still in place, as are the… Read More
Log export bans and the implications for pulp
Convert to PDFExports of softwood logs from New Zealand have continued to grow, replacing supply from Australia after China banned Australia from its log market in late 2020. However, that doesn’t guarantee there is more wood available for pulp producers. In response to a client’s series of questions on wood… Read More