Overcapacity on woodfree coated paper market jeopardises price stability

It could be seen on the woodfree coated paper market in France that overcapacity still exists and production cutbacks are necessary or else prices are more likely to decrease rather than rise as the producers want them to. Nothing would change until production was significantly curtailed or some plants were closed, many respondents agreed. The measures announced by Stora Enso and UPM were welcomed by manufacturers as a step in the right direction. They point out that paper consumption in Western Europe will decline by a few percentage points this year and small declines could occur again next year.