North American coated free sheet list prices in November were static, Wilde says. Reports suggest that some customers are paying $40/ton higher (announced = $40-60/ton for mid-September/early October). However, he adds, customers with fixed price contracts through year-end will see price increases only beginning in January of next year.
CFS is becoming the center of a global trade war, Wilde notes. Following an earlier U.S. move, the European Commission imposed provisional anti-dumping duties of 39.1% on imports of coated fine paper from China (excludes APP), he reports. Brazilian producers are making similar claims as well. "All of this suggests the oversupply situation for Chinese producers will get even uglier. On a recent tour of China, we saw first-hand evidence of chaotic CFS supplies," Wilde says.
TAPPI
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