News and Articles

• Domtar will indefinitely idle its Howe Sound NBSK mill, removing about 380,000 tonnes of Canadian capacity
• Stora Enso restarted its Imatra integrated pulp and board mill after a tank explosion earlier in August
• Two failed folding boxboard sales in Germany and the Netherlands raised further European closure risk
• The European Commission raised formal objections to the proposed UPM and Sappi joint venture
• Italian recovered paper prices held broadly flat while coreboard hikes were set for September 1

The European and North American paper and pulp industries moved through a busy final week of August 2026, with capacity closures, mill incidents, and a stable summer pricing pattern all shaping the outlook for the coming quarter. On August 24, Domtar announced that it would indefinitely idle its Howe Sound northern bleached softwood kraft pulp mill in British Columbia, taking about 380,000 tonnes of annual NBSK capacity out of the North American supply base and affecting roughly 400 workers at the site.

The Howe Sound decision continues a wave of softwood kraft closures in North America that has removed a large volume of production capacity over the past 18 months. Producers have pointed to weak paper grade demand, elevated fibre costs, and heavy competition from Latin American hardwood pulp as the main reasons for the retrenchment. The reduced supply is expected to give surviving NBSK producers more room to defend prices into the fourth quarter, chiefly in tissue, printing, and specialty grades that depend on softwood fibre for strength.

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Europe delivered its own set of supply headlines. Stora Enso restarted its integrated board and pulp mill at Imatra in Finland after a tank explosion earlier in the month forced a short shutdown, with production climbing back to normal by August 19. Two failed acquisition processes at Folbb in Baiersbronn and at Folding Boxboard Eerbeek in the Netherlands raised the risk of further folding boxboard capacity being permanently taken out of the European market. The European Commission also issued formal objections to the proposed UPM and Sappi joint venture, warning that the tie up could give the combined business too much pricing power in graphic paper.

Recovered paper markets stayed quiet through August. Italian ordinary grades held broadly flat compared with July levels, with mixed paper and board grades under slight downward pressure as summer collection volumes met soft mill demand. Coreboard prices were set to move higher from September 1, following an announced increase by a German producer, and further increases are expected in kraft and containerboard grades once autumn order books open.

For procurement teams, the message from the last week of August is to prepare for a firmer autumn. NBSK pulp buyers should confirm October contract volumes early, given the loss of Canadian tonnage. Buyers of folding boxboard should map alternative suppliers before further closures reshape the European availability picture. Recovered paper users can still lock in current prices for September but should build in a modest upside risk into fourth quarter fibre cost models, mainly for cartonboard, containerboard, and specialty converting grades.