Metsä Fibre opened a second round of change negotiations at its 690,000 tpy Joutseno softwood pulp mill in Finland on Sept. 8, covering the entire ~160-person workforce, saying it must prepare to run below capacity "for a longer period than previously anticipated" on weak pulp demand and a difficult domestic wood market (PaperAge, Global Wood Markets Info)
UPM and Sappi named the leadership of their planned 50/50 European graphic-paper joint venture — Gunnar Eberhardt (UPM Communication Papers) as CEO and Stephen Blyth (Sappi Europe) as CFO; the European Commission issued a Statement of Objections in its Phase II review in late August, but the parties still target closing by year-end 2026 (EUWID)
DS Smith confirmed it will close its Launceston, Cornwall corrugated box plant in November 2026 after reviewing counter-proposals — 165 jobs lost at a site that has operated for 50+ years (PULPAPERnews, Cornish Times)
European price hikes continue: Drewsen Spezialpapiere will raise prices ~8% across all grades from Oct. 1, and Cartiere del Garda is adding €50/ton on its coated woodfree range (EUWID – Drewsen, EUWID – Garda)
Forestry & Timber
Moelven is closing its Årjäng sawmill in Värmland, Sweden (~110,000 m³/yr of pine lumber, 38 employees), announced Sept. 8; log supply will be concentrated at its recently upgraded Valåsen and Edanesågen mills, citing high sawlog costs relative to lumber prices (Moelven, Global Wood Markets Info)
More than 1,000 US forestry signatories (315 organizations and 726 individuals, including Rayonier, Sierra Pacific and Roseburg) sent President Trump a letter urging him to use the EU–US trade deal to strip EUDR plot-by-plot traceability requirements for US timber ahead of the Dec. 30, 2026 application date (Wood Central, Global Wood Markets Info)
Diesel is squeezing the wood supply chain on both sides of the Atlantic: US diesel hit a record $5.85/gal and the American Loggers Council says mills are refusing fuel surcharges ("take it or leave it"), while the EU average reached €2.04/L, up 34% since December, adding hundreds of euros to long-haul log shipments (Wood Central, Global Wood Markets Info)
Huber Engineered Woods' $418M OSB mill in Shuqualak, Mississippi still has not started operations, with further delays reported (EUWID)
GWMI now expects Finland's sawmill recovery to slip into 2027, with 2026 output staying below 2025 as exports weaken and sawlog prices fail to fall enough to restore margins (Global Wood Markets Info)
Industry Technology Vendors
Valmet — Will supply two Valmet IQ quality control systems (scanners, fiber and softness measurement, MD/CD controls) for Viet Nam KORO Paper's new TM3 and TM4 tissue lines in Thanh Hoa province, delivery Q3 2027 (Valmet)
