Bad news - paper industry

Exports, June 2008

BC Stats

Bad News for Newsprint Exports
British Columbia exports of newsprint have been trending downward for several years, but they hit a low point in 2007 with volumes dropping 23.0% compared to 2006. Since peaking in 1993, the quantity of newsprint shipped abroad has plunged 66.4%.
Exports of newsprint from British Columbia have fallen dramatically over the last 15 years
2500 Thousands metric tonnes % Share 25

BC ranked third in the country in terms of exports of newsprint in 2007
NB 3.5% Que 46.8% NL 8.9%

NS 6.4%

Other 5.4%

2000 BC’s % share of Canadian total 1500

20

BC 11.1% Ont 17.9%
Source: Statistics Canada

15

1000

10

500

5

0 1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006
Source: Statistics Canada

0

Newsprint is used mainly to produce newspapers, of which daily newspapers comprise the bulk of the market, with advertising flyers and non-daily newspapers making up a much smaller portion of the demand for the product. It is the lowest grade of paper manufactured from wood pulp and, consequently, brings the lowest price of any paper product. The reasons for the slump in exports of the product from Canada include falling demand and foreign competition. The primary market for Canadian newsprint is the United States. In 2007, 56% of newsprint exported from British Columbia was destined for the US. Circulation of newspapers in North America has been on the decline since the 1980s as competition for news delivery has widened, first with the proliferation of all-news cable television networks, then with the advent of the

The story is much the same across the rest of the country. Overall Canadian exports of newsprint fell 33.3% from 1993 to 2007. The larger decline for British Columbia resulted in a reduced share of total Canadian newsprint exports, from around 20% in the early 1990s, to only 11% in 2007. BC still ranks third among the provinces, behind only Quebec (47%) and Ontario (18%).