Market Development

The international pulp market showed a quite mixed development during 2003.  In the first Half, slightly increasing demand and shortage of supply led to a significant price increase for NBSK (Northern Bleached Softwood Kraft pulp) from approx. 440 US dollars per ton in January 2003 to approx. 560 US dollars per ton at the end of June 2003. However, as a result of slowing demand, the pulp market weakened during the second Half of 2003, causing the price for NBSK to drop slightly until the end of 2003.  Norscan inventories, which declined slightly during the first Quarter of 2003, increased steadily during the remaining Quarters of 2003 and reached a level of over 1.8 million tons at the end of 2003.  

The market for short fiber pulp (birch and eucalyptus) developed more favorably.  Price increases were especially pronounced during the first six months of 2003, with the price for eucalyptus pulp exceeding those for NBSK.  During the second Half of 2003, prices weakened somewhat more than NBSK prices.

Project activity in 2003 was reasonable, the bulk of projects concerned modernizations and rebuilds of existing plants.  The most active regions were South America, Europe, and Asia.

Sources: RISI, Paperloop