paperloop.com
SAN FRANCISCO, July 30, 2001 (paperloop.com) - Worldwide chemical paper-grade market pulp producer inventories declined for the fourth month in a row, down 171,000 tonnes in June from the previous month, according to preliminary data from the Pulp and Paper Products Council in Montreal. The reduction is a 4.6 percent drop from May results, which followed a 4.3 percent drop the month prior.
World producer stocks closed June at 3.528 million tonnes or 74.8 percent higher than the same period one year ago. Producer inventory levels represented 39 days of supply in June, three days fewer than in May. That compares to year-ago results when world producers held 22 days of supply.
June production of 2.659 million tonnes was down 5.6 percent vs. year-ago results of 2.818 million tonnes, and dipped compared to last month. Meanwhile, Global shipments rose to the highest year-to-date close. World shipments totaled 2.830 million tonnes in June, down only 3 percent from year-ago results of 2,919 tonnes.
Producers operated at 88 percent of capacity in June, a 6 percent jump from May production but down 8 percent compared to the same time last year. The shipment-to-capacity ratio, considered an indicator of producer discipline, jumped 7 points over the prior month to close June at 94 percent, PPPC reported.
World inventory figures include totals from North America, Nordic countries, Argentina, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Chile, France, Japan, Morocco, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, and Swaziland. Countries that do not report inventories include Russia, Indonesia, Taiwan, and Thailand.