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Investing.com -- Suzano, the global leader in hardwood pulp with 13.6 million tons of capacity and 29% market share, announced plans to lower its pulp production by 3.5% over the next year.
The company produced 11.8 million tons over the last twelve months ending in the second quarter of 2025. The reduction represents approximately 0.4-0.5 million tons of economic downtime, which equals about 1% of global hardwood pulp demand of 40 million tons.
Suzano indicated that current pulp volumes are not generating adequate returns given the challenging pulp market environment. The company will host its second quarter earnings call later Thursday.
This production cut follows a similar move by competitor Bracell, which announced it will continue producing more niche dissolving pulp rather than hardwood pulp from September through November.
The production cuts could help reduce inventories and tighten pulp supply and demand dynamics, potentially benefiting hardwood pulp peers like UPM, STERV, and ENCE, as well as softwood producers such as SCA.
In the softwood pulp segment, economic downtime is already affecting 2-4% of supply. Metsa Fibre temporarily closed its 0.69 million ton Joutseno mill on June 9 until further notice, removing 2-3% of the 26 million ton global softwood supply.
Additionally, UPM extended its third quarter maintenance for its 0.7 million ton Kaukas facility.
China represents a key market for global pulp, accounting for approximately 35-40% of shipments.
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