Industry Reports

Deutsche Bank Reports Summaries

080529 Deutsche Bank Report - Coated Paper Price Increases

Deutsche Bank - Equity Research

We have recently learned that Verso has announced a series of $50/ton price increases on virtually all of its grades of coated free sheet, light-weight coated (LWC) and super-calendered (SC) papers. The increases are effective on orders entered on or after May 29th, 2008, and all orders shipping on or after July 1, 2008.  The timing of the increases would allow producers to capture the seasonally-strong late summer/autumn magazine & catalog season. An attempt to boost prices and recover rising costs had been expected by many players within the trade. We assume other players will be announcing price moves. On our coverage list, the player with the most leverage to LWC and SC papers is AbitibiBowater.