Forest products

VANCOUVER — The signs are glimmers of hope that British Columbia’s forestry-driven industries may be at the end of years of punishing losses and high unemployment, according to reports released Tuesday by the Conference Board of Canada.

Much of Canada’s wood-products sector has returned to profitability this year, the Conference Board said in its Canadian Industrial Profile-Summer 2010, published in collaboration with the Business Development Bank of Canada.

The “Son of Black Liquor” tax credits will probably cost American taxpayers hundreds of millions, if not billions, of additional dollars, but Congress might grab the money without paper manufacturers getting a dime.

Seven publicly traded paper companies have estimated that they will net about $570 million from the IRS’ recent ruling that made black liquor eligible for Cellulosic Biofuel Producer credits (CBPC), reports the Press-Register of Mobile, Alabama. Leading the way are Weyerhaeuser with $240 million (pre-tax) and Domtar with $200 million.

The other 14 publicly traded producers of black liquor, including the largest (International Paper), have not released such projections, partly because of uncertainty about exactly what the June 28 ruling means. (See Pulp Manufacturers Scratching Their Heads Over Son of Black Liquor Ruling for more information about these uncertainties.)

Meanwhile, the IRS’ “generosity” toward companies that produce, and burn, black liquor as part of their pulp-making operations has caught the eye of Congress, writes Jeremiah Coder for Tax Analysts. “The agency’s administrative largesse appears to be prompting members of Congress to consider legislation to retroactively disallow biofuel credits for black liquor claims.”

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ITTO's Annual Review and Assessment of the World Timber Situation compiles the most up-to-date and reliable international statistics available on global production and trade of timber, with an emphasis on the tropics.

LONDON, Aug. 12, 2010 (RISI) - This week the Chinese government, following up on an announcement made on May 27 of this year, released a final list of 279 pulp and paper mills at which capacity is to be removed as part of its broader program of closing small, inefficient manufacturing operations across many industries that pose problems with respect to high levels of pollution or energy consumption.

A strong performance for its Europe & International division and improving conditions in its South Africa division have led to paper and packaging group Mondi reporting interim headline earnings a share of €0,24 a share.

This compared to a headline loss a share of €0,01 a share in the six months ended June 30, 2009.

Profit from continuing operations rose to €135-million in the six months ended June 30, 2010, compared with a loss of €24-million the year before.