N.A. Newsprint Demand Stabilizes

North American newsprint list prices in December were flat m/m, reports Mark Wilde, senior analyst with Deutsche Bank. Domestic demand has stabilized, inventories are falling, and advertising trends are improving. But the key element, he adds, has been a surge in exports, particularly to the Asian markets. In October, North American shipments were +1.2% y/y with domestic shipments -5.4% y/y and exports +20% y/y (lower than the ˜50% average monthly growth posted in the first 10 months). Newsprint consumption by U.S. daily newspapers was down just 1.3% y/y in November (-7.9%ytd).

AbitibiBowater recently emerged from bankruptcy protection. During the reorganization process, Abitibi cut its newsprint capacity by 41% to 3.3MM metric tpy, according to Wilde.

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