Production and cost in the US paper and paperboard industry (original) (raw)

Cost Competitiveness of Chinese and Finnish Paper and Paper Product Manufacturing

2008

This study focuses on the labour cost competitiveness of the paper and pulp industry in China and Finland in particular, using the corresponding German, the US and Estonian industries as a point of comparison in the early 2000s. This study deepens the analysis of the earlier study of the cost competitiveness of the manufacturing industries in the same group of countries. Separate studies focusing on the labour cost competitiveness are carried out in a parallel manner on the chemical industries and metal industries. The results of these three sector studies deepen the knowledge about the change of competitiveness and its level. Large unit labour cost differences in a common currency were obviously a key factor behind exceptionally rapidly changing international production and trade structures in the late 1990s and early 2000s. The Chinese paper and pulp industry grew by about a quarter per year in 2000-2007 as the average annual growth of the value added of world manufacturing volume was only 3 per cent in 2000-2006. Nominal wages as such do not imply good international competitiveness. Chinese wages are, however, low even if their low labour productivity is taken into account and costs per unit of production are compared in a common currency. The relative levels of the Chinese unit labour costs vis-à-vis Germany, using the unit value ratios (UVR) to make the production volumes comparable, were estimated to be about 9 per cent in the paper and pulp industry. The ratio has even declined in the early 2000s and has stayed relatively stable after that until 2007. Improving labour productivity in China had compensated for the effects of rapidly rising wages and an appreciating Renminbi. The outlook of the paper and pulp industry, like the economy in general, is clouded by the difficult global financial crisis, which strongly restricts export possibilities and dampens also the domestic markets of industry. On the other hand, the stimulus packages of the government support the demand for paper and pulp products.

Input Substitution in the Indian Paper Industry: a Variable Cost Function Approach

1996

The trend towards trade liberalisation in developing countries is likely to increase the flow of recyclable waste paper from industrialised countries, raising concerns about the impact on local sources. Central to an analysis of the impact of international trade is the substitutability between imported and domestic waste paper by the paper industry as the main user of these inputs. It is particularly important in view of the uncertainty regarding future prices and availability of domestic forest raw materials and imported pulp. This paper presents the results of a survey which was undertaken among paper mills in Gujarat and Maharashtra, in India. The aim of the survey was to collect a cross section of data for firms in India which use waste paper as the primary material input to calculate not only an estimation of elasticities of substitution between imported and domestic waste paper but also the price and cross elasticities of raw materials, labour and energy. The results suggest t...

Industry Consolidation and Price-Cost Margins-- Evidence from the Pulp and Paper Industry

2004

In recent years, the U.S. pulp and paper industry has experienced an increasing degree of consolidation through a series of mergers and acquisitions. Based upon a structureconduct-performance model and using panel data for the pulp, paper, and paperboard sectors from 1970 to 1997, this paper investigates the effect of industry structure on price-cost margins. Unlike previous studies, which rely on an interpolated concentration measure calculated from output values, this study uses a measure of concentration based upon annual productive capacity, which significantly reduces measurement errors and endogeneity concerns. Results from the analysis indicate that one percent increase in market concentration increases price-cost margins by 0.5 to 0.6 percentage points. The effect, however, fluctuates with business cycle and displays a pro-cyclical pattern. Additional results indicate that import competition reduces operating profits of the domestic industry whereas expenditures on meeting g...

Determinants of Prices of Paper and Paperboard in the European Union from 1969 to 1992

Journal of Forest Economics, 1999

The price of paper and paperboard (newsprint, printing and writing, and other paper and paperboard) in the European Union was hypothesized to be a function of input costs, scale of production, and technical change. The price models were estimated with panel data over the period 1969-1992. Application of duality theory allowed recovery of the parameters of the production function. Conditional demand equations were also obtained showing how relative factor prices, volume of production, and technical change affect the utilization of the various inputs. Judging from the magnitude of partial elasticities, paper and paperboard prices were most responsive to the prices of pulp, labor, capital and energy, in that order. Technological change accounted for a decline in real prices of paper and paperboard from 1969 to 1992.

Measuring the competitiveness of Canadian pulp and paper in the US market reveals needs for more research

Canadian Journal of Forest Research, 2008

This paper studies substitution between main categories of imported pulp and paper products and between imported and domestic pulp and paper products in the US market. A restricted translog subcost function approach was employed to derive the elasticity of substitution. The results suggest that Canadian pulp and paper products are competitive and have maintained their competitiveness in the US market, and therefore, the challenges faced by the Canadian pulp and paper industry are not because of the loss of its product competitiveness but are due to other reasons such as declining demand for paper products in the United States. It seems that if the Canadian pulp and paper industry wants to retain its dominant position in the world market place, it will have to create global reach and develop new markets.

Regional demands for pulp and paper products

Journal of forest economics, 2010

The pulp and paper industry has experienced dramatic changes during the past several decades with large variations in world regional market shares of production capacity and consumption patterns. Based on panel data available (1961-2000) from the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization, this paper estimates dynamic demand models for pulp and paper products in four major trading regions: Asia, Europe, the North American Free Trade Agreement Area, and South America. With or without price in the model, short-run demands are generally output inelastic. However, without price in the model, long-run output elasticities were more elastic, particularly in the Paper/ Paperboard, Printing/Writing, and Household/Sanitary sectors with most elasticities greater than 1. With price included in the model, long-run demands were generally output inelastic, with primary exceptions being the Paper/Paperboard sector for all but the NAFTA region and Wrapping/Packaging for Asia and South America. Price was generally significant with long-run elasticities, in absolute value, in the (0.05, 0.11) range. And as a measure of urbanization, the percent of the population living in urban areas significantly affects consumption in total and in the Pulp and Printing/Writing sectors.

An Analysis of the World Paper Industry with a Focus on Europe and Trade Perspective

Studia Universitatis „Vasile Goldis” Arad – Economics Series

The pulp and paper manufacturing industry is currently facing sweeping changes due to the fact that supply and demand are dominated by different global players. These changes have significant effects not only on the paper and pulp production of countries but also on world economies thanks to the high level of trade between countries around the world. Based on the historical development of paper, our study examines today’s production around the world economies, shows the latest commercial trends in the paper and pulp trade, and makes a prediction on the effects of the data belonging to this sector on the trade of countries through using panel regression models. According to our results, we determined a significant relationship between the total world paper and cardboard production in Turkey and the European Union and the amount of pulp. On the other hand, a partial relationship was found between the European Union and Turkey’s paper production. In addition, we concluded that the amou...

The evolution of global paper industry

O Papel: revista mensal de tecnologia em celulose e papel, 2013

Industries are assumed to follow a specific life cycle characterized by stages of nascence, growth, maturity and decline apparent in firm numbers, production volume and technological activity. Pulp and paper industries not exceptions to this rule. Quite the contrary. The history of these lines of business seems to follow similar path dependent evolution in any given country. Constrained with market growth, available resources and technology, pulp and paper industry has experienced stages of growth, maturation, and even decline in a numerous mature economies.