A Current Look at the Forest Products Sector in the Lake States

Effective with all orders shipping on or after July 1, 2018, Evergreen Packaging is raising the transaction price on all specialty and coated groundwood products by $2.00/cwt. This increase applies to all products, including, but not limited to, the brands listed below: TruSpec4; TruSpec4.5; TruSpec5; Coated Freesheet; Coated 1-Side. ALL Grades, Basis Weights and Finishes. All standard upcharges will continue to apply.

Interfor Corporation announced that it has reached an agreement to sell its specialty sawmill located in Gilchrist, Oregon to Neiman Enterprises Inc. The Gilchrist sawmill, which specializes in ponderosa and lodgepole pine boards, has been curtailed since mid-June of this year due to COVID-19 related economic factors. Prior to its curtailment, the mill produced approximately 80 million board feet of lumber per year and employed approximately 150 employees. The completion of the transaction is subject to customary conditions and is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2020. Interfor will continue to own and operate its three US Northwest stud mills located in Molalla, Oregon, Longview, Washington and Port Angeles, Washington.

Norske Skog’s EBITDA in the third quarter of 2023 was NOK 327 million, a decrease from NOK 380 million in the second quarter of 2023. The main driver for the lower third quarter EBITDA was lower publication paper sales prices. The cash flow from operations in the quarter was NOK 173 million. Deliveries of packaging paper increased according to ramp-up plans, and Norske Skog Bruck received favourable quality feedback from customers. The Norwegian government proposed to increase the quota price floor for receiving CO2-compensation. “We are very pleased by the positive feedback from our containerboard customers, and that we are well underway to become one of the leading independent supplier of recycled containerboard in Europe. At the same time, we are maneuvering our mills to be as cost effective as possible. By the end of the fourth quarter 2023, Saugbrugs PM5, in addition to PM4, will produce and deliver quality SC magazine paper to our customers,” says Geir Drangsland, CEO of Norske Skog. Cash flow from operations was NOK 173 million in the quarter compared to NOK 353 million in the previous quarter, mainly due to lower EBITDA, receivable insurance compensation, and increased working capital. Operating earnings in the third quarter of 2023 were NOK 36 million compared to operating earnings in the second quarter of 2023 of NOK 146 million.