Blogs
PIIGS countries and BRIC countries...Currency turmoil is evident in the world. We are currently facing a full blown EU crisis in the PIIGS countries (Portugal, Italy, Ireland, Greece and Spain). Unfortunately the currency market is not working properly and there have been several initiatives. But how will it look 40-years from now?
The concern is evident in Greece that more and more turns like a greek tragedy. Public debt was 130% of GDP and it is obvious that Greece had manipulated government statistics to get themselves out of trouble! The Greek Prime Minister Papandreou has this week tried to reassure the international concern through the frozen wages, higher taxes and deteriorating pension conditions. If I understand things right they will program will be 9% of GDP over 3 years. Read more
Softwood lumber imports to China have increased by 81% in 2009. It is not inconceivable that China will import more lumber than Japan in 2009, a historical first. Canadian sawmills have been the major beneficiaries of this new fast-growing market, reports the Wood Resource Quarterly.
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Higher hardwood pulpwood costs in Brazil, Australia, Russia and Sweden pushed the 3Q/09 Global Hardwood Fiber Price Index (HFPI) to the highest level in 12 months, reports the Wood Resource Quarterly. The HFPI was over six percent higher than the Global Softwood Fiber Price Index (SFPI), the biggest difference in 21 years.
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The pulp industry in Canada has sharply reduced production the past two years both as a result of weaker pulp and paper markets worldwide and also because of less competitive pulp manufacturing facilities. Wood costs have increased for many plants as the result of reduced availability of relatively inexpensive sawmill residuals, according to the North American Wood Fiber Review.
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The international financial crisis has put a damper on global trade of wood chips used for pulp manufacturing in 2009, reports Wood Resources International. The biggest decline has been in shipments from Australia, South Africa and Uruguay to Japan.
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Australia, the world’s largest chip exporter, has reduced Eucalyptus and pine chip exports substantially in 2009 due to weak pulp markets in Japan. In the domestic market, pulpwood prices have increased over 13% in US dollars this year as the Australian currency has strengthened, reports the Wood Resource Quarterly.
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The largest cost component when manufacturing wood pulp is the cost of wood fiber. In the 1Q/09, this cost was 53% of the total production cost worldwide. Both the relative and nominal cost of wood have declined the past year; wood fiber costs in the 2Q/09 were at their lowest levels in over two years, according to the Wood Resource Quarterly. Read more
Brazil increased pulp production in 2008 by about eight percent. Wood fiber costs have remained unchanged in the local currency in the 2Q/09 but were eight percent higher in US dollar terms as compared to the previous quarter, according to the Wood Resource Quarterly. Read more
Submitted by timbercommunity on 2009, February 13 - 12:30am
According to a press release Stora Enso has signed an agreement to sell the buildings and most of the Summa Mill site in Finland to Google for approximately EUR 40 million. Stora expects the deal to close by the end of the first quarter 2009.
"We are currently considering building a data center at this site, and, as with any sort of construction project, there are a number of contingencies to be resolved and plans to be put in place," according to a Google statement.
So why are Google buying a Mill??? Read more
