White Birch sets $22/tonne June 15 price increase on 45-g newsprint (RISI)

Stora Enso has signed an agreement to divest its sheeting centre business in Baienfurt, Germany to Pyroll, a Finnish converting firm. The sheeting centre operations started in April 2009 and is 100% owned by Stora Enso. This divestment supports Stora Enso’s growth strategy for its consumer board business, where the focus is to generate value to customers by being the global benchmark in high quality virgin fibre carton board. Running sheeting centre operations is not part of Stora Enso’s core business. The new owner has sheeting operations as its core and is in a better position to further develop Baienfurt. Stora Enso will remain a key customer to the Baienfurt sheeting centre. Click Read More below for additional information.

Sole Source Capital LLC announced that it has acquired I.D. Images (“IDI”), a premier provider of product identification solutions. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Established in 1995, IDI is a manufacturer of high-quality durable and graphic intensive labels that address a broad range of product identification needs for a variety of end markets and customers. The company offers custom and stock labels to distributors, value-added resellers, and label converters and printers. Headquartered in Brunswick, OH, the company has eight manufacturing and distribution locations across the United States.

Demand for imported softwood lumber to the US has fallen by six percent during the first nine months of 2017 as compared to the same period in 2016. In contrast, Chinese import volumes have been up 21% year-over-year. Demand for imported softwood lumber to the US has fallen by six percent during the first nine months of 2017 as compared to the same period in 2016. In contrast, Chinese import volumes have been up 21% year-over-year. The lumber trade in Europe has also picked up in 2017 with the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Austria, Denmark and Spain having increased imports the most so far in 2017. Countries in the Middle East and North Africa, also known as the MENA countries, have sharply reduced consumption of lumber this year, reports the Wood Resource Quarterly (WRQ). In the first eight months of 2017, Egypt and Algeria (the two biggest lumber consumers in the region) have decreased their imports by 24% and 39% respectively as compared to the first eight months of 2016. Click Read More below for additional information.