U.S. Forest Products Industry to Kick-Off over $844 Million in Projects in 2Q05

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Researched by Industrialinfo.com (Industrial Information Resources, Incorporated; Houston, Texas). Whether one considers it late spring or simply, summer, from April through the end of June 2005, construction activity will be "hot" for the U.S. forest products industry. In the second quarter of 2005, manufacturers of paper and wood products plan to invest $844 million towards capital and maintenance expenditures at U.S. plants. For the quarter, research by Industrialinfo.com, indicates construction will commence on eighty-three active projects, with individual project investment ranging from $1 million up to $125 million. Of those, fifty-two projects, with a combined total investment value of $777 million are considered capital, while, thirty-one projects with a combined value of $67 million, fall on the maintenance side of balance sheets. This is a significant increase from the second quarter of 2004, which had 50 projects worth $332 million.

A $125 million paper machine modernization project that is expected to begin construction in June, is the single largest capital project for the quarter. Meanwhile, there are several maintenance shutdowns, each worth $4 million, to top the list of maintenance projects.

Projects in plants that are related to the wood products sector number (20), and account for $152 million, or 18%, of all spending. Three projects at plants that produce market pulp total $10 million, while paper and paperboard manufacturers will start construction on (60) projects valued at $682 million.

Geographically, the top three regions, in terms of project count and investment value, are Mid-Atlantic (16-$266 million), Great Lakes (16-$84 million), and Southwest (14-$158 million).

Click on the image to view a chart of project count and TIV for 2Q05.

Construction starts and investment value by the month for the quarter is as follows: April (35-$313 million), May (32-$191million), and June (16-$340 million).

View Project Report - 16001291

Industrilainfo.com's coverage of the forest products industry in the United States and Canada includes manufacturing plants that produce pulp, paper, paperboard, converted paper and paperboard products, lumber, plywood, and reconstituted wood products such as particleboard, medium density fiberboard (MDF) and oriented strand board (OSB). For detailed Forest Products Industry plant and project information, contact Industrialinfo.com's Member Center at 1-800-762-3361.

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