Articles containing the keyword 'paper industry'

Planners of the Soviet pulp and paper industry are constantly faced with the problem: which investment policy guarantees the best location structure? Should one invest in existing localities or expand to new areas, especially in heavily forested parts of Siberia? A location theory for the pulp and paper industry, based on three factors (markets, wood raw materials, relative costs) has been suggested by the Soviet authors Antonov and Trusova. In the present study the theory is – for the first time – given empirical contents and the feasible areas for future growth of the industry are tentatively determined. One of the main findings of the study is the detecting of considerable unutilized wood reserves in the European USSR. This supports those Soviet views advocating a European-oriented location in investment strategy for the industry, as market and cost factors are unfavourable to Siberian location.

The PDF includes a summary in Finnish.

• Eronen, E-mail: je@mm.unknown

A Commission was appointed to examine the significance of pulpwood exports from the political-economic and social point of view. A survey was made of the development of woodworking industry in Finland. The article includes a detailed review on paper industry in Finland and abroad, pulpwood resources in Finland and outlook of the industry. The export of pulpwood was significant in 1925-1927, the most important country being Germany. The commission notes that It would be more profitable to refine the wood into more expensive products. It does, however, not see it necessary to restrict export of pulpwood. If restrictions are considered necessary, prohibition of export is a better way than export duties.

The best way to promote domestic paper industry is to increase the supply of Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) H. Karst.). Measures are suggested to increase the productivity of the forests through forest improvement. The annual increment of spruce is calculated to cover the consumption in near future, provided the export of pulpwood does not amount to 600,000 m³, and the local demand of pulpwood does not exceed 7.8 million m³ annually. The Commission proposes that state ownership of forests is increased, forest management is intensified, and restrictions of forest industry to acquire forest land are removed.

It suggests also reliefs in taxation and import duties on fields related to transport, and equipment and raw materials needed by the paper industry.

The PDF includes a summary in English.

• Paperipuun-vientikomitea, E-mail: pv@mm.unknown

Short run market forecasting is desirable both for adjusting production and for regulating the national employment policy. In this study a forecast is made for one product. The purpose of the study is to develop a short run model describing newsprint sales in Finland that will combine mathematical simplicity, accuracy of description and universality.

Two methods of selecting variables seemed to be available. According to the first, newsprint consumption is divided into components, each of which is considered separately. The second method, which proved more fruitful, starts out directly from factors influencing the publishers’ decisions in purchasing newsprint, eliminating the least significant intuitively and simultaneously determining the lags.

The models developed in this study are capable of forecasting potential consumption. Even the best models in this study are multicollinear. The further into the future a forecast is extended, the greater is the possibility that relationships between the explanatory variables will change. It is intended that the newsprint seller will profit from the models achieved by using them to forecast sales in a future period, so that he can avoid both loss of interest due to acquiring a surplus of raw material or acute shortages of raw material.

The PDF includes a summary in Finnish.

• Riihinen, E-mail: pr@mm.unknown

The article summarizes import and export of timber and manufactured wood products in Europe before the Second World War, and outlines which are the opportunities of import and export after the war. The evaluation is based on statistics of 1936 and 1937. The export balance of Europe was positive; when all the timber assortments were included, Europe exported almost 10 million m³ more timber than it imported. Export and import of round timber were almost in balance, whereas export of paper products was about 12 million m³ larger than import. Consequently, European forest industry reached its magnitude before the war through export overseas. Foreign markets have been important especially for countries like Finland and other Nordic countries.

The war has disturbed the markets. In a scenario where Europe remains a closed sub-area in the global market, there is 10 million m³ excess of timber and wood products. Within Europe, United Kingdom is the greatest importer of timber and manufactured wood products. If UK was excluded from the European market, it would mean a big change in the export and import balance within the area. In 1936 and 1937 the import would have been only 45% and 55%, respectively, of the export if UK is not included in European numbers. If also Russia is excluded from the European sub-area, it would affect especially the export of round wood, sawn timber and plywood. Nordic countries have accounted for about 80% of European paper products export before the war. According to the article, Finnish wood resources do not allow big increase in sawn industry. However, there is potential in increasing demand of pulp in continental Europe in future. In general, Finnish forest industry would have to decrease the production, if the markets would be limited to the European sub-area.

The PDF includes a summary in German.

• Pöntynen, E-mail: vp@mm.unknown

Factors determining newsprint consumption in Finland in 1960–1986 were analysed. An econometric recursive multi-equation model describing the structure of the newspaper industry was formulated and estimated to obtain information on direct factors influencing newsprint demand. Short-term and long-term demand elasticities for newspapers and newspaper advertising were estimated.

The results indicate that the main factors affecting newsprint consumption are total circulation of newspapers, volume of newspaper advertising and the change in newsprint substance weight. Total newspaper circulation was found to depend on the rate of household formation and real household income changes. Demand for newspapers was shown to be price-inelastic. Structural analysis indicates that income elasticity of newspaper demand has increased slightly over time.

The volume of newspaper advertising was shown to affect newsprint consumption via the effects on pagination. Newspaper and television advertising were found to be independent of each other. The impact of the reduction in the basis weight was found to be substantial. The estimation of long-term elasticities of demand for newspapers and newspaper advertising using dynamic models revealed that demand rigidities exist.

The case study of Finland proposes three reasons why newsprint demand has not shown clear signs of reaching a saturation level. First, although population growth has stagnated in major consuming countries, the number of households has been increasing continuously. Second, income elasticity of newspaper demand does not show a declining trend. Third, the main driving force behind the buoyant demand is the resurgence of demand for newspaper as an advertising medium. In forecasting newsprint consumption, in addition to projections of economic growth, attention must be paid to the rate of household formation, the development of the advertising sector, the factors affecting competition between alternative media and the resulting media-mix in advertising, and changes in the substantial weight.

The PDF includes a summary in Finnish

• Katila, E-mail: mk@mm.unknown
• Riihinen, E-mail: pr@mm.unknown

The study examines the factor demands of the Finnish pulp and paper industry. In the theoretical part of the study, factor demand equations are derived using neoclassical production theory. In the empirical part, econometric factor demand model is estimated using annual time-series data for the period 1960–86. The relationship of factor demands and their prices are examined in terms of own price, cross price and substitution elasticities.

It is assumed that the ”representative firm” in the pulp and paper industry is minimizing its costs of production at a given output level. In addition, a number of other assumptions are made which enable the production technology to be represented by a cost function, in which the inputs are capital, labour, energy and raw materials. From the cost function, the factor demand equations, i.e., the cost share equations are derived by applying Shephard’s lemma. The equations are transformed to estimable form using translog approximation for the underlying factor share functions.

The study differs from the previous factor demand studies by applying the error correction model based on the Granger Representation Theorem and the results of the cointegration literature to model the dynamics of the factor demand. This approach provides a statistically consistent method for estimating the long-run static factor demand equations and the corresponding short-run equations. In general, the econometrics of integrated processes (e.g. stationarity and cointegration tests) applied in the present study have not been applied before in factor demand systems models.

The empirical results of the study indicate that the error correction approach can be applied to estimations of the factor demands for the pulp and paper industry. In both industry sectors, the adjustment to short run disequlibrium (price shocks) appears to be fairly rapid. The most significant results of the calculated elasticities are that the factor demands of pulp and paper industries clearly react to changes in factor prices and that there are significant substitution possibilities between the different inputs. The absolute values of the elasticities are, on average, somewhat larger than have been obtained in previous studies.

The PDF includes a summary in Finnish.

• Hetemäki, E-mail: lh@mm.unknown

Improvement of Finnish forest industries’ competitiveness in the world markets through productivity increase as branch and plant level requires the search for appropriate comprehensive productivity indicators and the analysis of factors underlying productivity variations. These were the main objectives of the study. The data was based on the information on individual plants in 1974, obtained from the files of Industrial Statistics in the Central Statistical Office in Finland.

The study uses neoclassical average production functions as the starting point and the theory is expanded to cover factors underlying productivity variation when measured with regard to labour, capital, material input, and total factor input. For the measurement of the latter an index formula is suggested which would not necessarily incorporate neoclassical assumptions as they cannot be assumed valid in the Finnish forest industries. The estimation results of average production functions suggest increasing rate of returns in sawmilling but in pulp and paper production evidence remains inconclusive. The elasticity of substitution is unlikely to be constant and the non-homotheticity assumption cannot be rejected.

The productivity variation is, in general, best explained by a relatively simple model with capital-labour ratio, plant size and output quality as explanatory factors. Further trials with input quality, input price ratio, process characteristics, and the rate of capacity utilization improved the models only marginally in most cases, which may have been partly due to the failure to measure the variables successfully.

The cross-section results are compared with those of an earlier time-series study. The estimation results of average production functions yield somewhat different information in the long and short run. Both cross-section and time-series productivity models illustrate the importance of output level in total productivity.

The PDF includes a summary in Finnish.

• Simula, E-mail: ms@mm.unknown

The aim of the present study was to explain how the Finnish paper industry increased its production and its exports, broadened its markets and managed to show a profit in its activities during the period between the two world wars, despite the restrictive international commercial policies then prevailing, and despite the economic depression of the thirties. Newsprint has been treated as a subject for detailed examination.

The study is based on a comparative investigation of the price received by the paper mills for their paper and the costs of production. Since the market price of paper fell during the twenty years in question, one must examine how the mills responded to the reduction in selling price. Technically the study ranges from the valuation of the standing timber to the handing over of the finished product to the buyer. Between 1929 and 1933 the cost of producing newsprint fell by 387 marks per ton.

The most significant factor in maintaining competitive power was the technical development and increased output brought about in the mills. That alone accounted for half the savings achieved. The reduction in the buying price of wood and in delivery costs accounted for about a third of the difference in production costs, and other factors for the remaining fifth. In addition, the devaluation of the Finnish mark was crucial. Measures taken to reduce costs were effective in so far as the paper mills, with only one or two exceptions, maintained their competitiveness in international markets and managed not only to retain but also to extend their markets.

The PDF includes a summary in English.

• Ahvenainen, E-mail: ja@mm.unknown

• Diaz-Balteiro, Research Group “Economics for a Sustainable Environment”, Technical University of Madrid, Ciudad Universitaria s/n, 28040 Madrid, Spain E-mail: luis.diaz.balteiro@upm.es
• Voces, Research Group “Economics for a Sustainable Environment”, Technical University of Madrid, Ciudad Universitaria s/n, 28040 Madrid, Spain E-mail: rv@nn.es
• Romero, Research Group “Economics for a Sustainable Environment”, Technical University of Madrid, Ciudad Universitaria s/n, 28040 Madrid, Spain E-mail: cr@nn.es

• Bolkesjø, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Dept. of Ecology and Natural Resource Management, Høyskoleveien 14, NO-1432 Ås, Norway E-mail: torjus.bolkesjo@umb.no