Market News of Note

Canada and the United States have been without a softwood lumber deal since 2015 and B.C. softwood lumber exporters pay duties of 14.4 per cent with those expected to jump to 34.5 per cent in the fall.

GAAP: Net sales of $824 million, Operating income of $4 million.

Sales of $484.8 million decreased 3.1% year over year, and 0.2% on an organic basis

Sales of $1,154 million (compared with $1,211 million in Q4 2024 and $1,109 million in Q1 2024)

Adjusted EBITDA of $49 million and Net Loss of $35 million

Net sales for the first quarter of 2025 remained flat at $724 million.

Kimberly-Clark slashed its annual profit forecast on Tuesday as the Kleenex tissue maker said it would incur about $300 million in costs this year due to U.S. President Donald Trump's broad trade tariffs.

Unifor is calling for a large-scale Team Canada approach to support the forestry sector across Canada after the U.S. Department of Commerce's recent announcement that will more than double the combined duties on Canadian softwood lumber.

Last week, Rottneros issued a profit warning due to rising raw material prices, the world market's declining demand for mechanical pulp and an increasingly weaker dollar exchange rate. The Group is now giving notice of redundancy for 47 people, most of those affected are working at Rottneros Mill in Sunne.

Looking further ahead to 2027, International Paper predicts its free cash flow to be in the range of $2 billion to $2.5 billion.

U.S. President Donald Trump's tariff threat could motivate more Canadian lumber producers to shift to the U.S. southern border while accelerating efforts to find new markets, industry experts said.

The US president's proposal to increase domestic lumber production by expanding logging on federal lands faces major obstacles, including labor shortages, infrastructure deficiencies, and investment risks.

Nordic Paper is currently reviewing options for its long term financing. Due to this, the Board of Directors of Nordic Paper has decided to propose no dividend for the financial year 2024 to the Annual General Meeting to be held on 28 May 2025.

British Columbia Premier David Eby has ordered the removal of all U.S. alcohol products from BCLIQUOR stores in response to recent statements by U.S. President Donald Trump about his intention to impose tariffs targeting Canada's dairy and lumber industries.

KP Tissue Inc., part owner of Canada's largest toilet and tissue paper producer, says it won't provide guidance for its next quarter and has delayed a decision on a major capital investment because of U.S. tariffs.

The U.S. Department of Commerce has proposed increasing the anti-dumping duty on Canadian softwood lumber from 7.66% to 20.07%, nearly tripling the rate set three years ago.

Weyerhaeuser's stock is gaining as investors anticipate that the company will benefit from new 25% tariffs on Canadian lumber imports. The Seattle-based firm, which owns 10.4 million acres of timberland in the U.S. and logging rights on another 14 million acres in Canada, is expected to sell lumber and wood panels at higher prices without the added cost of tariffs on cross-border shipments.

Sonoco Products Company, a sustainable packaging solutions provider, will implement a price increase of $70 per tonne for all grades of uncoated recycled paperboard (URB) in the US and Canada.

Due to rising input costs, particularly but not only for pulp, Sappi Europe intends to increase prices for coated and uncoated fine papers by 8% effective from 7 April 2025.

U.S. President Donald Trump announced on Thursday, Feb. 27, that his proposed 25% tariffs on Mexican and Canadian goods will take effect on March 4 as planned.

The U.S. Department of Commerce has launched its seventh administrative review of anti-dumping and countervailing duties on Canadian softwood lumber for the period from January 1, 2024, to December 31, 2024.

The company states: "We continue to experience challenging SBS industry conditions, with supply exceeding demand, but we remain optimistic about the future growth prospects of paperboard packaging. We are taking actions to address the resulting near term margin pressure by reducing fixed costs, including eliminating more than 10% of all positions across the company. These combined actions should deliver $30 to $40 million in cost savings in 2025. While our industry is currently in a down cycle, we continue to invest in our assets to ensure that they remain competitive in the long-run."

The American Forest & Paper Association (AF&PA) President and CEO Heidi Brock issued a statement regarding President Donald Trump's announcement of 25% tariffs on all products from Canada and Mexico.

The new price is valid from March 1, 2025.

Weyerhaeuser reported a sharp drop in fourth-quarter profit on Thursday as it struggled with higher forestry and road costs in its timberlands unit due to wet weather conditions.