Forest products

The extreme weakness in the U.S. housing industry has created a huge over-supply of OSB capacity with no other options or markets to pursue. This has led to below cost prices for much of 2009.

LONDON, Jul. 23, 2009 (RISI) - Recent weeks have seen the first signs of a hoped-for trickle down effect on the pulp and paper industry from China's massive economic stimulus package.

Paper and board deliveries by CEPI countries were 21.7 million tonnes in the first quarter of 2009 as demand continues to be affected by the economic situation

Consumption and trade in paper and board contracted further during the first quarter of 2009 as the global economic downturn continued to affect the industry. Consumption was at its lowest quarterly level since 2003 and total exports fell below 3 million tonnes in a quarter for the first time since this report was introduced.

I have recently been talking to several suppliers and producers in the pulp and paper industry in Asia, and the good news is that it looks as if the Chinese pulp and paper market is on a fast expansion track again. There are new projects, big and small, signed or under discussion again in the recent months, after a quiet period since late last year.