Message-ID: <22491652.1075859428273.JavaMail.evans@thyme> Date: Thu, 20 Dec 2001 02:02:25 -0800 (PST) From: emaildelivery@businesswire.com To: tx-industrial-info-res@businesswire.com Subject: U.S. Forest Products Industry Shows Signs of Getting Out of the Woods in Late 2002, in an Advisory by Industrialinfo.com Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit X-From: emaildelivery@businesswire.com X-To: TX-INDUSTRIAL-INFO-RES@businesswire.com X-cc: X-bcc: X-Folder: \Paul_Thomas_Jan2002\Thomas, Paul D.\Deleted Items X-Origin: Thomas-P X-FileName: pthomas2 (Non-Privileged).pst Welcome to eMail News Delivery, a service from Business Wire. Here is your Industrial Information Resources Inc. news release. If you have received this in error please send a message to: eMailDelivery@businesswire.com with the following command in the body of the message: unsubscribe TX-INDUSTRIAL-INFO-RES If you have questions about this service, please contact your Business Wire Account Executive or service@businesswire.com BW2008 DEC 20,2001 2:00 PACIFIC 05:00 EASTERN ( BW)(TX-INDUSTRIAL-INFO-RES) U.S. Forest Products Industry Shows Signs of Getting Out of the Woods in Late 2002, in an Advisory by Industrialinfo.com Business/Energy Editors HOUSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 20, 2001--The following is an advisory by Industrialinfo.com (Industrial Information Resources Inc; Houston). The year ahead will be challenging for America's forest products industry, much like 2001. Weak demand for some products combined with a sluggish economy will continue to plague the industry through most of 2002. Getting out of the "woods" will be determined by how well manufacturers match production to demand, more industry consolidation and by limiting capital spending. Capacity expansion is mostly non-existent and growth will be less than 1%, as plants will still have to contend with production curtailments through the first half of 2002. Producers have indicated that machines will no longer run outright, but instead run closer to demand. By the third quarter of next year, producers expect to see a significant reduction in high inventories that could trigger long awaited price increases. Industry consolidation has become necessary for growth as well as a way to survive in a global marketplace. More mergers and acquisitions are in line for the industry next year. In the midst of shuffling manufacturing assets, business groups and marketing strategies, more of the country's plants will close permanently. Additionally, consolidation will lead to some U.S. plants falling into the hands of foreign companies. For some plants, new ownership could mean an injection of much needed capital investments. Industrial Information Resources recently published 2002 Industrial Outlook (http://www.industrialinfo.com/indoutlook.htm), available on CD-ROM, projects a whopping 20% decline in capital spending compared to 2001. Though seemingly dismal, spending will be sustained by environmental projects, the need to replace aging equipment and by investments that yield high returns in the short term. Industrialinfo.com provides daily news related to the industrial market place including industry alerts and databases for the energy and industrial markets. For more information on trends and upcoming construction activities in the pulp & paper industry as well as other industrial sectors send inquiries to pulpandpapergroup@industrialinfo.com or visit us at www.industrialinfo.com and www.iirenergy.com. --30--HM/ho* CONTACT: Industrialinfo.com, Houston Randy Godet, 713/783-5147 KEYWORD: TEXAS INDUSTRY KEYWORD: BUILDING/CONSTRUCTION ENERGY ENVIRONMENT FOREST PRODUCTS MANUFACTURING SOURCE: Industrialinfo.com For the best viewing of the news releases please use the following email settings: Courier 10 point. -Notice of Copyright and General Disclaimer- (c) 2000 Business Wire. All of the releases provided by Business Wire are protected by copyright and other applicable laws, treaties and conventions. Information contained in the releases is furnished by Business Wire`s members who are solely responsible for their content, accuracy and originality. 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