Hetemäki, L.

Soirinsuo, J.

Jukuri

Pointaf ViewJUHo soIRINSUo AND LAURI HETEUATIMagazine poper consumption hosstarted to decline in the USAn the US market, magazine paPersare the only group among the(graphic) communication PaPerswhose consumption has been seen toincrease in recent times. During the pastFour years, however. their consumprionrate has stagnated. and even decreasedslightly, regardless oi econom icgrowth. The factors underlving thisdevelopment are not temporary burpermanent and bv nature accelerating.This means that there is iustification inspeaking about a structural change inpaper consumption.Due to the structural change, thelong-term consumption assessment ofmagazine papers must be updated so asto comply u i th rhe new circumstances.The same applies to the assessmentmethods used.Conventionalconsumptionassessment methods,which focus oneconomic grou'th,the price ofpaperand historicalaspects ofpaperconsumption, discard the very factorsthat steer consumption in an advancedinformation sociery. Economic growthhas ceased to have an automatic positiveeffect on the consumption of magazinepapers, which probably also appliesto any other paper grades used forinformation com mu n ication purposes.Economic trends may still continueto increase paper consumption, dueto expanding advertising, for example.ln the long term, however, economicgrowth will promote a structural changetowards increasingly intensive electroniccommunication, thus enabling theexpanding replacement of the printedword with other communication forms.Information and communicationtechnologies (ICT) have changed theconsumers' media habits in ways whichare becoming increasingly aPParent.Although the Internet is still a relativelyrecent phenomenon, it has alreadychanged the consumers', and especiallythe young persont use of time and dailymedia habits to a significant degree. Thesechanges are also spurring advertisers toadopt the use of media where consumersspend more of their time,\(e have no reason to assume that thedevelopment described above will remaina feature of the US market alone. A similartrend is also very likely to occur in otherOECD countries where the consumershave the opportunity to acquire newtechnology in an environment with anadvanced information infrastructure.Indications of similar developments, albeitsomewhat delayed, are seen in severalEuropean countries, Canada, Australia,Japan and South Korea.In the long term, the manifestationsof this trend may extend to developingeconomies such asChina, India, Braziland Russia, whichare currently facinga prosperous future.Nevertheless, it isextremely difficult toestimate how quicklythis could take place.At present, it appears to be likely thatpaper consumption wil l  continue toincrease in the said countries for at leastthe next 5-10 years.ICT has developed extremely swiftlyduring the past l0 years. In addition tothis rapid development, there are severalinnovations, such as mobile phones,computers, the Internet and broadbandcommunication connections that havebeen converted into commercial productsand become commonplace very quicklyon the historical scale. Compared to thenumber of users, their more radical effectsare seen in the trends they have generated.Visibiliry means power in the media world,and advertisers place their advertisementsin locations that offer maximum visibilityto their desired target groups. In thelight of current developments, we mayexpect an excePtionally slow growth ratein the consumption of magazine papersin the foreseeable future, and a decliningconsumption trend in the long term.Metso acquires Mitsubishil leavy Industries' papermachinery technologyI  I  etso Paper and Mitsubishi  Heavy Industr iesI  Y I  (MHI) have reached an agreement underwhich MHI 's paper machinery technology wi l lbe transferred to Metso Paper, The value of thecontract, which is subject to regulatory approvals'wi l l  not  be disclosed. The transact ion enhancesMetso Paper 's services business especial ly in Japan.The arrangement wi l l  ensure cont inuoustechnical  support  for  MHI customers.  Metso Paperwi l l  s tar t  serving the customers immediately af terthe agreement has become effect ive.MHI wi l l  at tend to their  present order backlog,and Metso Paper wi l l  take over the customerservice af ter  MHI contractual  obl igat ions have beenful f i l led.Metso is a global  engineer ing and technologycorporat ion wi th 2007 net sales of  approximatelyEUR 6 bi l l ion.  I ts almost 27,000 employees inapproximately 50 countr ies serve customers inthe pulp and paper industry, rock and mineralsprocessing, the energy industry and selected otherindustr ies.(Metso Press Releose)Myllykoski to centralizei t 's  European businessI  ly l lykoski  wi l l  central ize al l  responsibi l i t iesI Y I into one orqanization for its Europeanbusiness, The North American business wi l lcontinue as today.Myl lykoski  has decided to reorganizei ts European business and central ize al lresponsibi l i t ies into one organizat ion.  The aimof th is organizat ion change is to enhance theattent ion on profr tabi l i ty ,  to increase each mi l l 'scommercial  responsibi l i ty  and to cont inue toimprove customer service.The mi l ls  wi l l  be organized into two div is ions,Coated Papers and Uncoated Papers,  and each mi l lwi l l  have a fu l l  business responsibi l i ty .  Myl lykoskiNorth America wi l l  cont inue as today. MD Albbruck'MD Plat t l ing and Myl lykoski  Paper wi l l  formthe Coated Papers div is ion,  whi le Lang Papier,Utzenstorf  Papier and the al l iance partner RheinPapier as wel l  as Plat t l ing Papier wi l l  operate in theUncoated Papers div is ion.(Myllykoski Press Release )Paperi ja Puu - Paper and Timber Vol.90iNo. 2/2008

Magazine paper consumption has started to decline in the USA

Abstract

Similar works

Full text

Available Versions

Jukuri