Closed Finnish paper mills will cause tension in US printing/writing paper supplies

If the suspension of the Finnish paper industry lasts for another four weeks, the reduction in import volume will cause tension in the North American printing/writing paper market and may lead to another rise in prices of coated paper and other types of paper in the third quarter.

A veteran trade manager predicts that “Finland cannot produce paper for at least 40 days.” These include the impact of the previous strike that ended on June 15 plus the extension of the four-week period, and the time needed to restart the idle paper machine.