Temporary Price Reduction: Was $2495, Now $1875. Manufacturing and marketing uncoated freesheet (UCFS) is a challenging and unpredictable business. Electronic alternatives to UCFS, such as Web-based account-management solutions, and nontraditional paper grades, such as fine groundwood papers, are increasingly displacing North American demand for UCFS. This report examines the market pressures on the demand for UCFS, and the survival strategies being deployed by the five largest North American UCFS manufacturers- Boise Cascade, Domtar, Georgia-Pacific, International Paper, and Weyerhaeuser. These five companies account for 78 percent of the 14 million short tons of UCFS shipped in North America in 2004 (see figure below).
North American Paper Manufacturers: Strategies for Survival-A Qualitative Analysis provides a thorough analysis of the factors influencing demand for UCFS and the transformation of the market in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Vendors' strategies for dealing with a decline in demand comprise the bulk of the report, with a chapter on all the major North American vendors. This report is a must-read for all paper converters, distributors, merchants, and office superstores. |