North American 3Q pulp downtime dwarfs earlier curtailments

paperloop.com
SAN FRANCISCO, July 27, 2001 (paperloop.com) - Various major market pulp producers have further increased their downtime plans -- scheduling an estimated 767,402 tonnes during the third quarter -- in a more aggressive attempt to bring inventories in line with expected demand.
Many of the supply curtailments are taking place during the summer as producers anticipate continued weak pricing.
The 767,402 tonnes producers are taking this quarter represent the most downtime producers have taken in the past fiscal year, and already has eclipsed the estimated 655,132 tonnes producers took in the second quarter. The total also dwarfed the 383,000 tonnes taken in the first quarter, when cold weather prevented some producers from shutting operations, and has surpassed the 512,000 tonnes taken in fourth-quarter 2000, when several producers combined maintenance and market-related shuts. Current downtime is primarily market related, say industry sources.
Tembec, Inc., which has about 426,000 tonnes of yearly northern bleached softwood kraft (NBSK) capacity, will lose about 20,119 tonnes from its NBSK mill in Skookumchuck, B.C., while its other NBSK mill, in Smooth Rock Falls, Ont., will trim about 16,926 tonnes based on c capacity of 191,000 tonnes/yr. Tembec's NBSK downtime alone will total 37,405 tonnes, representing more than a third of the 100,000 tonnes of 3Q downtime it has planned. The remaining 62,595 tonnes will come from its various bleached chemi-thermomechanical (BCTMP) mills and some specialty sulfite pulps.
A source at Parsons & Whittemore today said the Rye Brook, N.Y., firm would shutter its northern bleached hardwood kraft (NBHK) mill in Nackawick, N.B., from Aug. 20 to Sept. 8. The mill, which has capacity to produce 260,000 tonnes/yr, will curb about 14,060 tonnes from its supplies. All of the downtime is market-related, said the source.
Meanwhile, International Paper Co. said during a conference call last week that its third-quarter pulp curtailments would total about 80,000 tonnes, equaling the downtime it had taken in the second quarter. That downtime is in addition to huge cutbacks of a combined 147,000 tonnes per quarter it has taken since shutting down its integrated pulp mills in Mobile, Ala., and Camden, Ark.
Canfor Corp. last week said it would close its Northwood mill in Prince George, B.C., from July 27-Aug. 6 and lose about 19,000 tonnes of NBSK. A company source said the mill would again close in September, with its two pulp lines shut for about 10 days each, losing another 15,000 tonnes and bringing the company's third-quarter NBSK downtime to 34,000 tonnes, according to the source.
Valois Vision Marketing reported last week that UPM-Kymmene has taken about 12,000 tonnes of NBSK from supplies at its Miramichi, N.B., mill in July. Further third-quarter downtime plans at the firm were not available.
"Look at the prices, I'm surprised there isn't more downtime," said Managing Director Michel Valois, who expected that paper downtime would continue at a high rate. That could fuel additional market pulp downtime moving forward, he noted.