Newsprint Exports See Drastic Fall

A drastic fall in Canadian newsprint shipments to traditional export markets in Asia and Latin America this year is creating more storm clouds for the industry. For all North American mills, June offshore shipments were down 23 percent from a year earlier and down 25 percent for the first six months of 2012. Offshore business represented 28 percent of total shipments.

“Export markets are heavily oversupplied and the lower Euro and weaker Indian rupee have led to non-competitive U.S. dollar-based prices for North American newsprint,” said Paul Quinn, forest products analyst at RBC Dominion Securities. Asian shipments were down the most