New RISI report predicts Pacific Rim woodchip trade to reach record level of 19.3 million BDMT in 2013

BOSTON, MA, 11 February 2009 - RISI, the leading information provider for the global forest products industry, today predicted that the Pacific Rim woodchip trade -- already at record levels in 2008 -- will expand even further by 12% to more than 19 million BDMT by 2013. This prediction is included in a newly published review: The 16th International Pulpwood Trade Review. However as a result of the global financial crisis, according to the Review woodchip imports (and prices) will decline sharply in 2009, but will begin to rebound in 2010. This annual report has become an essential tool for operators of tree farms and managed forests, pulplog/woodchip importers/exporters, pulp producers, transport/shipping companies, financiers and investors. This year's Review provides detailed information on changes to global demand and supply for pulpwood fiber, as well as a comprehensive register of global pulplog and woodchip suppliers, traders and buyers. The 2009 edition of the Review also explores the rapidly increasing demand for woody biomass fiber for energy in the US and Europe, and the outlook for wood pellets and biomass fiber exports to Europe and Asia, from North America, Latin America and Africa.

The Review includes details on 75 woodchip exporters around the world, as well as a complete listing of the 157 specialized woodchip carriers in service in early 2009, including owners and charterers.

Robert Flynn, study co-author, commented, "Prices for most internationally traded woodchips hit record levels, in mid-2008, but began dropping rapidly at year end. In 2009, all woodchip prices are likely to fall, in US dollar terms, by 10-15% or even more." He continued, "But despite this, we are forecasting major expansion in the longer term, specifically in the Pacific Rim markets. We are also forecasting a surge of wood pellet and biomass chip demand in Europe, where we saw a 60% jump in imports of wood pellets from North America in 2008."

"In the last two years, we've seen one of the biggest expansions in the woodchip carrier fleet in the history of the trade," says co-author Dennis Neilson, "but fewer vessels will be added in the next several years, and older vessels will likely be scrapped now that freight rates have fallen to such low levels."

The 2009 Review has been co-authored by Robert Flynn, RISI's director of international timber and Dennis Neilson, an internationally known New Zealand-based consultant and expert on the global wood fiber trade.

The 2009 International Pulpwood Trade Review is available now. A complete prospectus can be found at www.risiinfo.com/pulpwood.

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; São Paulo, Brazil; Shanghai, China; Singapore; Helsinki, Finland; and Charlottesville, Virginia. More information can be found at www.risiinfo.com