MethodologyContact usSupportLogin
Stay ahead of market shifts in the pulp and paper industry with our in-depth analysis of critical price trends and supply and demand dynamics. Learn more.
North American pulp market sentiment remains divided as the months-long pricing rally in bleached hardwood kraft (BHK) clashed with a weak bleached softwood kraft (BSK) sector, where downtime or closures could emerge as the only catalyst to save off price erosion, industry contacts told Fastmarkets.
US prices on regular contract business closed May broadly mixed, as a $20 per tonne drop in BSK contrasted with $50 per tonne rises in BHK, underscoring the split views.
Benchmark northern bleached softwood kraft (NBSK) final May effective list prices declined to $1,570 per tonne, down $20 per tonne, according to Fastmarkets surveying. Southern bleached softwood kraft (SBSK) effective list prices also declined by $20 per tonne, bringing the list to $1,515 per tonne.
Paper grade BSK availability is broad, demand little changed, and competition for business helped buyers to successfully drive decreases in both contract and spot markets. May contract price erosion was further confirmed after US NBSK spot markets collapsed at mid-month.
After a decrease of $25 per tonne to $680-710 per tonne net delivered in NBSK spot market prices to the US East and Midwest on May 15, this week spot market prices stabilized. That left NBSK levels unchanged at the $680-710 per tonne mark. Not all producers agree with those low prices, though.
“The NBSK spot offers are too low even at $720 because there are surcharges, especially in trucking that amount to $10-15 per tonne,” an NBSK producer contact recently said, citing higher costs to deliver tonnes by rail or truck that results in many Canadian NBSK mills losing money at today’s low spot prices.
Through May, oversupply has reduced pricing power and incremental tonnage availability remains high due in part to a weak export market to China, where prices closed May down $10 per tonne month over month to $660 per tonne net CIF, according to Fastmarkets surveying. For pricing power to return, most believe mill closures or substantial market-related downtime would need to occur to slash an inventory overhang.
Closures have occurred in North America at Domtar this year, which indefinitely closed its Crofton NBSK mill in British Columbia in January and its 280,000 tonne Coosa Pines, Alabama, mill this month. In Europe, capacity rationalization and downtime have begun happening amid continued weak prices on the continent.
In Sweden, Stora Enso on May 25 announced that it will permanently close line 3 at its Skutskär mill that makes NBSK pulp during the third quarter. The mill’s L3 has a capacity of 100,000 tonnes per year of NBSK. The mill’s two fluff pulp lines, with a combined capacity of 415,000 tonnes per year, will continue operations as the firm focuses on fluff pulp and increasing its competitiveness, the company said.
“We have examined a number of options to improve the financial situation of fiberline 3. However, none of these options have proved feasible in ensuring long-term cost competitiveness for L3. Our goal is to focus on fluff pulp on our two other production lines to improve the long-term competitiveness of the production unit,” Stora Enso executive Timo Tidenberg said in a release.
Earlier, in Finland, Metsä Fibre reportedly started taking downtime at its 690,000 tonne per year Joutseno NBSK mill in late March. The company has not announced a restart date.
The weak market for NBSK comes in contrast to fluff pulp markets, where lower output and surging demand helped drive up May prices higher than several prior months.
US and European fluff effective list prices surged to $2,050 per tonne, up $90 per tonne, according to Fastmarkets surveying. Export prices to China meantime increased to $935-975 per tonne net CIF, a $75 per tonne gain.
Skyrocketing prices to the Middle East-North Africa (MENA) region, maintenance downtime industrywide and the Coosa Pines fluff closure led supply and demand fundamentals to strengthen.
Looking to June, Domtar and Rayonier Advanced Materials (RYAM) recently announced fresh price increases on fluff, adding to an early move from Global Cellulose Fibers (GCF). GCF, the first producer worldwide to announce a price on any grade of pulp, told customers its fluff pulp list price delivered to North America and Europe would increase by $120 per tonne in June, while in global net fluff markets it announced a $55 per tonne net price increase.
Domtar informed customers in global net markets that its fluff pulp prices will increase $45 per tonne, effective June 1 until further notice. RYAM announced a $55-120 per tonne fluff pulp price increase to customers worldwide, effective June 1. The firm has a $55 per tonne net hike in offshore markets and a $120 per tonne hike in the US and Europe.
US BHK markets saw northern bleached hardwood kraft (NBHK) and bleached eucalyptus kraft (BEK) broadly climb $50 per tonne in regular contract business this month, following a surge in spot market prices. As previously reported, Alberta-Pacific and Billerud trimmed supply on maintenance downtime. Meanwhile, Mercer International pivoted more output to NBSK at its Peace River mill, and Thunder Bay Pulp and Paper exited NBHK back in January.
US BEK final May effective list prices increased to $1,530 per tonne, up $50 per tonne, according to Fastmarkets surveying. North American-produced BHK, which includes both NBHK and southern bleached hardwood kraft (SBHK), rose by $50 per tonne to $1,500 per tonne.
Producers of BEK see more potential upside in June despite a lack of fresh pricing announcements because prior ones — notably a $120 per tonne announced hike in January that corresponded with sharply higher discounts off list prices — have still not shown full implementation. As a result, some producers think US BEK prices should rise even though China has stalled out.
“China is going sideways. But the US should have more [increases] just to catch up with other regions. Because we are selling with delivered prices, that is not close to what we have in Europe. Demand here is very good,” said a BEK producer contact regarding the US market, adding that robust tissue demand is helping drive this year’s BEK pricing rally. “Every customer in tissue said there is more demand than they could supply.”
There are signs that upwards momentum is slowing, however. After posting a $20 per tonne gain on May 15, US BHK spot market prices edged up by a softer $5 per tonne this week. That left US BHK spot prices closing May at $660-680 per tonne net delivered. Some US buyers believe levels may have peaked with a seasonally weaker summer approaching.
Worldwide chemical market pulp producer inventories increased to 42 days of supply in April, rising one day versus the prior month, the Pulp and Paper Products Council (PPPC) reported on Friday May 29. Global shipments totaled 4.350 million tonnes, a 1.4% decline versus April 2025 results.
Producer inventories reversed the decrease of 1 day of supply recorded in March to close April at the 42-day-of-supply mark. The 1-day increase corresponded to a 158,000 tonne increase, according to a Fastmarkets poll of industry analysts. That brought producer stocks to an estimated 6.512 million tonnes.
Bleached softwood kraft (BSK) pulp stocks held unchanged sequentially at 46 days, the same result as March. Bleached hardwood kraft (BHK) stocks increased by 2 days of supply versus the prior month, closing April at 40 days of stock, according to the PPPC.
While April global pulp shipments of 4.350 million tonnes represented a small 1.4% dip versus year-ago results, it marked an apparent shift in demand as deliveries posted a sharp 12% drop compared to March results of 4.945 million tonnes.
Worldwide shipments of BSK pulp totaled 1.642 million tonnes in April, up 2.3% versus year-ago results of 1.605 million tonnes, but a hefty 14.6% decline compared to March results of 1.922 million tonnes.
Global BHK pulp shipments totaled 2.546 million tonnes in April, a 3.9% decrease compared to April 2025 results of 2.649 million tonnes. That was also an 11.1% sequential decrease from 2.865 million tonnes in March, according to PPPC numbers.
The shipment-to-capacity ratio, which some watch as a key indicator of demand, slumped to just 84% in April. That was a sharp nine-point decline versus March’s 93%, but in line with the year-ago figure of 84%.
Speak to us today for transparent market intelligence and ongoing expert insights of the global pulp market, including market-reflective price data, forecasts and analysis. Get started.