French woodfree coated paper producers face overcapacity, reduced paper consumption as they aim to raise prices; curtailment, closures needed to help affect change in prices, insiders say

Kendall Sinclair

LOS ANGELES , November 30, 2011 (Industry Intelligence) – Producers of woodfree coated paper in France face overcapacity, falling paper consumption in Western Europe as obstacles to raising their prices, Euwid reported Nov. 29.

Many respondents agreed that closures and curtailments were needed in order to increase prices. Therefore, producers applauded measures taken by Stora Enso Oyj and UPM-Kymmene Oyj.

According to an article carried by Forestweb on Nov. 18, UPM has begun discussions on possible layoffs of up to 90 days next year at its Finnish mills while Stora Enso announced that it would take a week’s downtime per month in the first half of 2012, also at its Finnish mills.

Moreover, Western European paper consumption will reportedly fall by a few percentage points this year, with modest declines continuing into 2012, Euwid reported.

The primary source of this article is Euwid, Gernsbach, Germany, on Nov. 29, 2011.

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