Global paper, forest products outlook raised to stable
December 17, 2009
main points
"Our assumption for 2010 is for overall demand to remain at low levels, roughly in line with what we saw in 2009,"
....
Recent permanent capacity closures in North America should benefit the sector's operating rates, and cuts in fixed costs should improve further as more capacity closures take effect and companies optimize their ability to operate at lower demand levels.
Conditions are expected to remain relatively strong in Latin America and Asia, while stable trends are expected in North America.
Europe is more volatile given the pricing pressure and excess operating capacity in many of the paper grades.
Overall demand for paper and forest products remains weak.
SRS Price at posting:
64.0¢ Sentiment: None Disclosure: Held
