Paper News from PRINT 13: All About Inkjet
The biggest paper news during the PRINT 13 show was the announcement—unrelated to the show—by International Paper of the permanent closure of its Courtland, AL, mill. Courtland produces 765,000 tons of uncoated freesheet and 185,000 tons of coated freesheet. The closure will be completed by the end of the first quarter of 2014. This represents about 8 percent of North American uncoated freesheet capacity. North American demand is declining at about 4 percent per year, with year-to-date operating rates at 91 percent. We can expect that this will temporarily balance, or even tighten, the market, but as demand continues to decline, more closures will be necessary in 2014 and 2015.
Jack Miller is founder and Principal Consultant at Market-Intell LLC, offering Need to Know™ market intelligence in paper, print and packaging. Previously, he was senior consultant, North America, with Pira International.
Known as the Paper Guru, Jack is the former director of Market Intelligence with Domtar, where he also held positions as regional sales manager, territory sales manager and product manager. He has presented at On Demand, RISI’s Global Outlook, PRIMIR, SustainCom World and at various IntertechPira conferences. Jack has written for Printing Impressions, Canadian Printer, Paper 360, PaperTree Letter and Package Printing, along with publishing a monthly e-newsletter, MarketIntellibits.
He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from The College of the Holy Cross and has done graduate studies in Statistics and Finance.
