Closures and rebuilding projects trimming surplus capacity in the woodfree paper market

摘要

European woodfree printing and writing paper output capacity is moving closer in line with demand as a result of VPK Group's recent announcement that it will acquire the Double A Alizay paper mill in France and convert it to make corrugated case material. This step will remove approximately 300,000 tpy of woodfree uncoated paper capacity from the market. The woodfree uncoated paper segment had still encountered surplus capacity in recent months -although its scale is being cut dramatically by the closures at Stora Enso Veitsiluoto and now in Alizay. That being said, the capacity cutbacks for uncoated paper will hardly trickle down in full to the market before the end of this year. CEPI reports that 2020 ended with woodfree uncoated paper consumption falling by around 700,000t. Coated paper consumption had tumbled by roughly 1 million t in 2020. By way of comparison, uncoated paper consumption had decreased by 400,000 t and coated paper consumption by 600,000 t in 2019.