RISI'S International Woodfiber Report predicts North American woodfiber demand to fall more than 20 million tons by year-end
BOSTON, MA. Oct. 23, 2008 - The International Woodfiber Report (IWR), following a flurry of pulp and paper mill closures and OSB mill curtailments, today reported that North American virgin woodfiber demand could fall more than 20 million green tons by 2009. The Report, published monthly by RISI, the leading information provider for the global forest products industry, also stated that the trend is expected to continue given negative indicators for both industry segments. According to IWR estimates, indefinite and permanent paper and paperboard closures so far this year represent the loss of 7.7 million tons/year of pulpwood demand across North America. Additionally, consumption of pulp-grade wood for the manufacture of OSB could decline nearly 9.5 million green tons for the year, if current production trends continue in the US and Canada. The latest curtailment announcements among pulp and paper mills will result in the indefinite loss of 1.6 million green tons/year of pulpwood consumption capacity, as well as the loss of 395,000 tons in temporary machine shuts. On the OSB side, the latest round of curtailments will remove about 2 million green tons/year of wood demand from North American markets.
Chris Lyddan, executive editor of the International Woodfiber Report, commented, "With the housing market virtually dead in the water, and pulp and paper markets teetering under the weight of the general financial crisis, pulpwood demand could see unprecedented declines in most US and Canadian markets." He continued, "Add the loss of sawlog markets, and the washout in logging capacity will become increasingly critical to an industry already battling wood supply issues."
The International Woodfiber Report is published monthly. Yearly subscriptions are available now for $597 – to order or for more information, please visit www.risiinfo.com/wf.
About RISI
RISI is the leading information provider for the global forest products industry. The company works with clients in the pulp and paper, wood products, timber, tissue, nonwovens, printing and publishing industries to help them make better decisions.
Headquartered in Boston (Bedford), Massachusetts, RISI operates offices in Brussels, Belgium; Atlanta, Georgia; San Francisco, California; Portland, Oregon; Sao Paulo, Brazil; Shanghai, China; Singapore; and Charlottesville, Virginia. More information can be found at www.risiinfo.com.