Business Management - Industry Trends

BY CAROLINE MILLER As a weak U.S. economy continues to batter the printing industry, several pulp and paper producers have announced that they are either closing mills or cutting production. In a flurry of first quarter earning statements, companies such as International Paper, Weyerhaeuser and Sappi Fine Paper North America, among others, have announced plans to cut production in response to a softening economy. In its first quarter earning report, Weyerhaeuser says that it expects the slowing global economy to result in a weaker demand for production in all its major pulp, paper and packaging product lines. This resulted in Weyerhaeuser's decision to

Printers debate the availability and prices of paper as the economy weakens. BY CAROLINE MILLER It could be said that as the economy goes, so goes the paper market. And, in recent months, that has certainly been the case. The slowing economy has resulted in what appears to be a stabilization in pricing and availability, reports NAPL Chief Economist Andrew Paparozzi. "We saw paper prices continuing to aggregate along with the economy right through mid-year 2000. Prices really peaked sometime in the spring of 2000. Then, in the second half of the year, prices started to moderate significantly as the economy rapidly degenerated," he

BY CAROLINE MILLER The paper market is not unlike the direction of the wind: It can change directions at any given moment. For the last year, the price of paper has been blowing steadily upwards. But that may be changing, according to National Association for Printing Leadership (NAPL) Chief Economist Andy Paparozzi. "Things have been pretty interesting since March, when we began to start to see some change in the market." Each month, the NAPL surveys 500 printers across the country on paper prices and availability. In the past four months, the monthly survey has seen some dramatic changes that indicate rising paper prices

Industry consolidation continues, paper availability tightens and prices rise—but not by much. BY CAROLINE MILLER The April announcement that International Paper (IP) was upping the ante by making a $7.3 billion offer to purchase Stamford, CT-based Champion International came as no surprise to many in the printing industry. "We were not surprised by International Paper's bid for Champion," remarks Tom Hayes, vice president of marketing and sales for R.R. Donnelley Paper Services. "When StoraEnso paid a higher market premium for Consolidated than what UPM was paying for Champion, it was almost a fait accompli." International Paper's offer exceeds UPM-Kymmene's February move to acquire

Several friends were talking recently about the effect executive-level turnover has on morale at the shop-floor level. One industry veteran summed up his feelings: "The Barbarians are really at the gates now!" "Heck, they're not at the gates," replied another. "They've been here, they've gone and they're coming back for dessert!" The comment was met with very strained laughter. As I read through recent copies of Printing Impressions' Top Management News, I became unsettled. Amid the upbeat declarations of new contracts and plant expansions, there seem to be more reports of turmoil in the boardrooms and executive suites of many mid- and giant-size printers. We're

And they're catching this latest e-commerce wave via full-service trading sites on the Internet. BY ERIK CAGLE Once again, paper buyers from around the country are reporting price increases for printing grades. According to the National Association for Printing Leadership (NAPL), nearly 75 percent of printers polled in October 1999 reported price increases, whereas slightly more than 20 percent reported a rise last April. According to Andrew Paparozzi, chief economist for the NAPL, paper markets should continue to tighten and prices rise, with an anticipated strong growth for the U.S. economy this year backed by a recovering Asian economy. It is a trend that

After a year that saw paper manufacturers' bottom lines hit rock bottom, increases are being announced almost unilaterally. A recovering Asian economy is among the reasons for the boost. BY ERIK CAGLE Did you see it coming? Why of course you did. Everyone knew that paper prices were going to go up. Yeah, we don't know anyone who wasn't aware of it. Heh, heh. Nice try, pal. Like a critically acclaimed Madonna movie, the July price increases left many people with their mouths agape. According to Pulp & Paper Week, International Paper, Georgia-Pacific, Willamette Industries, Champion International, Crown Vantage and P.H. Glatfelter have announced

There are few signs that current, favorable conditions for paper pricing and availability will change anytime soon. BY ERIK CAGLE The current market prices for coated and uncoated groundwood and free sheet are progressing like a '74 Pinto spinning its wheels in the snow: going nowhere slowly and, if anything, digging itself into a deeper hole. Don't expect "CNN" to break into its regular news coverage with a special market report on paper. Same low prices, different day. Same high availability, different quarter. And still no drastic changes in sight. The price increases being implemented aren't taking hold, according to Karen Kelty, director of marketing for King

BY ERIK CAGLE Let's face facts. Paper is not exactly chic these days. There is nothing more appalling than a printing commodity strutting around while wearing last year's price tag. Unless, of course, you're a paper purchaser for a commercial printer. Unchanged prices make this person the most popular man/woman in the eyes of estimators and the person drawing up the next budget. That explosion you heard was definitely something else, not an increase in paper prices. Uncoated free sheet experienced a first quarter boost in some circles, but a number of observers wonder if they will take hold. In short, nothing's changed since

Paper manufactured overseas is comparatively inexpensive and readily available, but what's its long-term potential for commercial printers here in the United States? BY ERIK CAGLE Like Beanie Babies and baseball cards, foreign paper has become too much of a good thing. The respective markets all reached a saturation point, but when it comes to paper, you won't hear any printers complaining about the situation. Collectors may bemoan the dwindling value of Rainbow the Unicorn or a 1984 Fleer Update Kirby Puckett, but it's not likely the decline in price for Phoeno Star No. 2 is going to make a commercial printer throw a mug