The judge ruled that the US Forest Service breached federal law by not considering some of the roadless area as eligible for wilderness designation. If this ruling is upheld, it would prevent logging on approximately 400,000 acres of commercial timberland. The company has received the environmental and building permits for the upgrade. The company attributed the lower results to high pulp and energy costs and to expenses related to its Spotswood, New Jersey mill cigarette paper project. The company was also affected by slower printing and writing paper sales in Brazil.
Sources expect the list prices to start falling soon.
Weak markets in Asia are believed to have pushed extra North American pulp on to the European market, while buyers are maintaining small inventories, increasing competition for sales. Producers and traders agree that market-related downtime in the second quarter to improve the situation. Canadian producers have been accused of not taking their share of downtime, although one source says that April is the earliest month many Canadian producers can take downtime due to freezing weather. The project would attempt to more effectively manage the Russian forest system, and would include training forestry workers in modern felling and wood-processing technologies, and increasing the effectiveness of fire and pest protection. New CE for Sappi Fine Paper Sappi has announced the appointment of Bill Sheffield of Chief Executive of Sappi Fine Paper.