<b>Canadian Pulp Production Increases</b>

The production of market pulp at Canadian pulp facilities increased 5 percent for November from the same time last year.

According to the Pulp and Paper Products Council market pulp production reached 725,000 metric tons for the month, pushing the 11-month total to 8.463 million metric tons, also a 5 percent increase from 199’s figures.

The operating rate at Canadian pulp mills also posted improvements for both the month and first 11 months. For November, the operating rate stands at 92 percent of capacity, compared to last November’s operating rate of 89 percent of capacity. The operating rate the first 11 months stands at 97 percent of capacity, compared to last year’s 11-month total of 94 percent of capacity.

The shipment of finished pulp posted a modest decrease for the month, although shipments are up marginally for the first 11 months. November’s shipment level reached 631,000 metric tons, down 1 percent from last November’s figure of 635,000 metric tons.

Shipments the first 11 months stand at 8.257 million metric tons, a 1 percent improvement from last year’s 11-month figure of 8.165 million metric tons.

Broken out by individual regions, shipments to the United States declined by 7 percent for the month, although they increased by 4 percent the first 11 months. Shipments to Western Europe posted the biggest gains for both the month and first 11 months. For November, shipments climbed 24 percent, while shipments the first 11 months improved by 11 percent.

The biggest loser for both the month and first 11 months continues to be regions outside of North America, Western Europe and Japan. This region, which helped spur strong growth in market pulp shipments over the past several years, has been declining sharply through the year. According to the PPPC, shipments to this region dropped by 29 percent for November, and posted a 15 percent drop over the first 11 months of the year.

Along with an increase in production and slowing in shipments, the inventory level of market pulp is starting to create moves by some producers to take inventory adjustment downtime. At the end of November the inventory stocks on hand stands at 755,000 metric tons, an increase of 94,000 metric tons from the previous month, as well as a sharp increase of 177,000 metric tons from figures the same time last year.

While inventory levels increased, the number of days of supply on hand also increased. For November, the number of days stands at 33, compared to October’s figure of 28 days, as well as last November’s 23 days of supply on hand.