http://www.risiinfo.com/blogsThe leading information provider for the global forest products industryen-usRISI2008-07-25T04:51:32-04:00http://www.risiinfo.com/blogs/Blog-Sustainable-forests-and-the-network-effect.html?source=rssEnvironmental and eco-friendly business initiatives often have trouble lasting in the marketplace if the only promise they provide is social consciousness. Being part of a networked community of partners and competitors, however, may offer a real tangible value for companies in today’s industry. Which may explain, in part, some of the phenomenal success of the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) that can actually deliver both business and environmental benefits.Sustainable forests and the network effectKenneth Norris, Deputy Editor, IFPTA Journal2008-07-25T00:00:00-04:00http://www.risiinfo.com/blogs/Blog-Will-industry-consolidation-finally-take-hold-in-the-Chinese-printing-and-writing-paper-sector.html?source=rssFacing persistently weak demand and high production costs, the idea of any capacity expansion in the North American and European printing and writing paper sector remains the least attractive topic for conversation among producers and investors. Instead, capacity closures and M&A have become the "hot" topics in these mature markets.Will industry consolidation finally take hold in the Chinese printing and writing paper sector?Sandy Lu, Economist, Graphic Papers, RISI2008-07-24T00:00:00-04:00http://www.risiinfo.com/blogs/Blog-Wish-you-were-here.html?source=rssThe summer is a seasonally quiet period for North American coated paper markets, a time when industry participants can take off for exotic vacation spots secure in the knowledge that the catalog printing surge is just around the corner. Wish you were here...Chris Cook, Deputy Editor, Pulp & Paper Week, RISI2008-07-23T00:00:00-04:00http://www.risiinfo.com/blogs/merger-misfortune.html?source=rssMergers and acquisitions are becoming more and more common in our industry. In the May 2008 issue of Pulp & Paper, I wrote an article titled, “Making mergers successful,” which chronicled successful mergers, gave case studies, and explored future trends in mergers and acquisitions.Merger misfortuneFelicia Willis, Associate Editor, Pulp & Paper magazine, RISI2008-07-22T00:00:00-04:00http://www.risiinfo.com/blogs/Blog-Power-and-whos-wielding-it.html?source=rssOne of the projects I was working on, home and away, is something we are all really excited about: the RISI Top 50, or Power List. Our worldwide editorial team, along with help from many other RISI and outside sources, has put together a list of people whom we feel are the top movers and shakers in our industry, those who hold the most influence. Power and who’s wielding itGraeme Rodden, Editor, Pulp & Paper magazine, RISI2008-07-21T00:00:00-04:00http://www.risiinfo.com/blogs/Blog-Euro-area-inflation-resembles-a-mountain-stage-on-the-Tour.html?source=rssThe riders on this year's Tour de France have left the flat roads behind as they head into the mountain stages in the second week of the race. Sadly for European consumers, inflation has tracked a similarly steep path since the beginning of the year.Euro area inflation resembles a mountain stage on the TourScott Howard, Economist, Macroeconomics, RISI2008-07-17T00:00:00-04:00http://www.risiinfo.com/blogs/Blog-Learning-from-the-polls.html?source=rssThe weekly poll on the RISI website is a regular source of insight into our industry, offering a snapshot of the beliefs, hopes and fears of our audience of dedicated pulp and paper professionals. Two recent field trips revealed to me how the practical concerns of mills and their employees are often reflected in, or otherwise intersect with, the findings of our weekly surveys.Learning from the pollsJustin Toland, Contributing Editor, PPI magazine2008-07-16T00:00:00-04:00http://www.risiinfo.com/blogs/Blog-Watch-out-the-weatherman-just-may-be-right.html?source=rssJust a few short weeks ago, the National Weather Service predicted that the hurricane season this year just may set alltime records. Following Katrina and some of the Florida devastation in several of the years just prior to the monster that slammed into New Orleans and spanned all the way over to the Gulf Port area, this seemed impossible, or at least hard to believe. And yet as I sit here writing, flooding in the Mississippi Valley, in fact in much of the mid west, is well on its way to reaching, if not exceeding the “Hundred-Year Flood” we had in the same area within the last dozen years. There are several reasons for mentioning this in a safety related article. Obviously, the horrendous hazards associated with many natural disasters have direct impact on the health, safety and wellbeing of our employees at home, at the workplace and commuting between the two. There are a number of OSHA Standards already on the books that deal with natural disasters, employee warning and protection systems and obviously the clean-up following a major storm brings an entirely new set of hazards to the daily routines of our employees in almost all areas of our mills. If you turn to www.osha.gov on the internet (a most useful tool), you will find that the current headline is Floods and Tornadoes –Keeping Disaster Site Workers Safe During Cleanup and Recovery Operations.Watch out – The weatherman just may be right!Frank E. Cordier, OHSA Advisory Board for Sawmills2008-07-15T00:00:00-04:00http://www.risiinfo.com/blogs/Blog-A-quarter-for-your-thoughts.html?source=rssApril, May and June were a mixed bag for the forest products industry. The second quarter of the year can often bring unexpectedly positive results for marketers of lumber and panel products. Often, however, it is the third quarter of the year that engages the buying side enough to reach the high points of the year. Few members of the industry expect that to happen this year, some saying that the highs we have reached will likely define the highs for this time around.A quarter for your thoughtsSam Sherrill, Deputy Editor, Crow's, RISI2008-07-14T00:00:00-04:00http://www.risiinfo.com/blogs/Blog-The-impacts-of-bioenergy-on-woodfiber-markets-are-beginning-to-show.html?source=rssA year ago, I wrote a viewpoint on the emerging biomass markets and their potential impact on woodfiber markets. In that discussion, rising energy costs, growing concerns over global warming and the goal of energy independence were cited as the main drivers in the development of the woody biomass energy, and a list of more than 20 projects were cited as examples of the growth in the bioenergy markets. The impacts of bioenergy on woodfiber markets are beginning to showRocky Goodnow, Senior Economist, Timber, RISI2008-07-11T00:00:00-04:00http://www.risiinfo.com/blogs/Blog-APP-set-to-take-fifth-global-tissue-supplier-position.html?source=rssAsia Pulp and Paper, a subsidiary of the Indonesian Sinar Mas Group, is on a very aggressive expansion course with its tissue business plan. The company is, however, very quiet about details or the exact timing of start-ups of its new machines. Nevertheless, in this short article we will make our best effort to provide some insight into its whole expansion scheme.APP set to take fifth global tissue supplier positionBrad Kalil, Director of Tissue, RISI2008-07-10T00:00:00-04:00http://www.risiinfo.com/blogs/Blog-Why-investors-say-dont-cry-for-me-Argentina.html?source=rssThere is no doubt Argentina enjoys the right conditions to develop its paper industry: cheap and productive land to support timber cultivation; increasing domestic paper and board consumption; and a strong agro-industrial sector, which is responsible for raising box demand in the country. Why investors say don't cry for me Argentina?Fernanda Belchior, Assistant Editor, PPI Latin America News, RISI2008-07-09T00:00:00-04:00http://www.risiinfo.com/blogs/Blog-UK-paper-merchanting-today.html?source=rssJust a glance at the recent history of the UK paper merchanting industry gives us a good indication of how the paper industry has and is changing from top to bottom as the slow ones become fast, the fast ones slow, and quite a few early big names simply disappearing altogether. UK paper merchanting todayVince Collins, Director, Collins Scott Marketing Ltd2008-07-08T00:00:00-04:00http://www.risiinfo.com/blogs/Blog-Panning-for-that-one-nugget.html?source=rssIn the pulp and paper industry, April through June tends to be conference season and I have given my credit card a good workout recently traveling from Dallas (PaperCon) to Stockholm (SPCI) to Quebec City (International Pulp Bleaching) to Jasper, AB (PacWest). It has not done my air miles any harm either.Panning for that one nuggetGraeme Rodden, Editor, Pulp & Paper magazine, RISI2008-07-07T00:00:00-04:00http://www.risiinfo.com/blogs/The-making-of-theRISI-Power-List.html?source=rssThe July issue of PPI magazine has just landed on my desk, and I just have to say what a groundbreaking issue it is! For the first time in the history of the global industry we have put together a list of the top 50 players who influence the world of pulp and paper. The final list is a diverse mix of those that wield power and have influence, but more importantly it is those that can cause industrial sized, worldwide ripples with a casual throwaway line or a couple of strokes of a pen. The making of the RISI Power ListMark Rushton, Editor, PPI magazine, RISI2008-07-03T00:00:00-04:00http://www.risiinfo.com/blogs/Canfor-Pulp-cuts-maintenance-costs-by-twenty-percent.html?source=rssThe pulp and paper industry is under pressure. And Canadian producers have particular pressures that have forced some mills to close. Competition from hardwood pulp producers and the huge commodity mills in Asia is intensifying, exchange rates and fiber costs are high, and energy costs are increasing.Canfor Pulp cuts maintenance costs by 20%Jamie Collis, Shell Global Solutions, and Chris Smith, Canfor2008-07-02T00:00:00-04:00http://www.risiinfo.com/blogs/The-next-steps-in-enzymatic-stickies-control.html?source=rssThe use of recycled fibre in the manufacture of tissue, paper and paperboard is increasing worldwide. Unfortunately with the recycled fibre come the problems with stickies.The next steps in enzymatic stickies controlDavid R Jones, industry specialist, Buckman Laboratories of Canada Ltd 2008-07-01T00:00:00-04:00http://www.risiinfo.com/blogs/Blog-Production-cutbacks-lag-dwindling-US-consumption.html?source=rss"Prices aren't going to zero" is an adage tossed about the wood products industry when weak markets throw prices into a seemingly never-ending downward spiral. It assumes that as prices drop, so too will production rates. As less lumber is produced, a greater degree of equilibrium between supply and demand will then emerge and prices will firm. It is exactly what has occurred since housing starts began their plunge from seasonally adjusted annual rates above the 2 million mark to rates now below the 1 million mark.Production cutbacks lag dwindling U.S. consumptionGary Zauner, Senior News Editor, Crow's, RISI2008-06-30T00:00:00-04:00http://www.risiinfo.com/blogs/Blog-Innovate-or-Die-What-North-American-lumber-producers-are-doing-to-limit-losses.html?source=rssForget turning a profit, North American dimension lumber producers are struggling just to stay afloat. It should come as no surprise that the market for lumber products has gone from bad to horrible to worse and continues to degrade.Innovate or Die: What North American lumber producers are doing to limit lossesJesse Nesse, Product Manager, Wood Products Benchmarking, RISI2008-06-27T00:00:00-04:00http://www.risiinfo.com/blogs/Blog-Coated-mechanical-inventories-surge-as-battle-lines-are-drawn-for-upcoming-price-hikes.html?source=rssRISI has been predicting a major reversal of the trend in North American coated mechanical paper "apparent" consumption, and the new data that was just released by the PPPC show that the turnaround showed up with a vengeance in May. The year-to-date figures had been up 3.4% though April, which was perplexing given all of the weakness in the major end-use markets such as magazines and catalogs. Despite this weakness, these end-users continued to buy paper, amassing a sizable inventory, while their true consumption of paper plunged.Coated mechanical inventories surge as battle lines are drawn for upcoming price hikesJohn Maine, Vice President, World Graphic Papers, RISI2008-06-26T00:00:00-04:00http://www.risiinfo.com/blogs/Blog-A-Delicate-Balance.html?source=rssIt was an unexpected treasure to find the subject of forest products logistics in the mainstream press, especially in such a prominent weekly as TIME magazine. The article, titled “A Port That Exports,” by Justin Fox in the June 9th issue, covers Georgia’s Port of Savannah continued rise in exports, based in no small part on the strength of forest products – wood pulp, paper and paperboard. It was even more interesting that Mr. Fox suggested the trend at this one port could help reshape the U.S. trade deficit.A Delicate BalanceKenneth Norris, Deputy Editor, IFPTA Journal2008-06-25T00:00:00-04:00