Q4 Paper Outlook — Caution in a Moderate Market

Terry Degler, paper buyer for Acorn Press and a 36-year veteran with the Lancaster, PA-based printer, knows all about pulp fact and fiction. As Degler tells it, a glut—and a subsequent return to more normal market conditions—soon followed a spike in coated prices about a year ago.

"Notable sheets do tend to yo-yo around a bit, but overall, coated has been holding fairly steady for the past five or six years," Degler says. "Any spot price increases are more the result of manufacturers seeking additional profit than any large-scale market forces."