Photo Credit: Corner Brook Pulp and Paper Limited
Pre-commercial thinning of high density forest on the Province’s west coast.

Newsprint
Newsprint shipments are expected to increase by about 24% this year to 708,000 tonnes as the industry recovers from a prolonged strike at Abitibi-Consolidated in 1998. Shipments were earlier expected to be even stronger for 1999, however, a loggers’ strike at Corner Brook Pulp and Paper shut down the mill for one month this past summer. Most collective agreements in the industry have now been renewed, providing a stable labour environment and paving the way for uninterrupted production for the next several years.

Lower market prices have tempered the growth in newsprint value. The average transaction price of newsprint in the first ten months of the year was US$510 per tonne, down 14.6% from US$597 a year earlier. However, there are signs of improvement in newsprint markets in the fourth quarter as indicated by an October 1st price increase of US$35 per tonne. Overall, the value of newsprint shipments from the Province is expected to be up by approximately 7% this year to around $540 million.

Sawmilling
Lumber production in fiscal 1999/2000 is expected to be about 115 million board feet, an increase of 4.5%, and an all-time high. The main suppliers of milled wood in the Province are eleven integrated mills. These mills have doubled their output over the past decade. Because sawmilling is quite labour intensive, this increased production has been a significant boost to rural employment.

Through consolidations and efficient resource use and practices, the industry has experienced significant growth in terms of marketable volume as well as in value-added production. Some producers have taken advantage of fibre exchange agreements with the newsprint mills, enabling more efficient usage of forest resources.

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Taking Advantage of New Trade Opportunities
One local sawmill is seizing new export opportunities created by the free trade agreement between Canada and Chile. Cottles Island Lumber of Notre Dame Bay is producing lumber for a new town in Southern Chile. Newfoundland spruce is being used for the construction of 850 houses, a community centre and a school in the town of Prima Vera.