According to reports this past week by Seeking Alpha, New York City, N.Y., USA, detailing the status of various pulp and paper producers, the price of specialty cellulose (dissolving pulp) will decrease approximately 7%-8% in 2015 compared with 2014. 

Tembec (Montreal, Que., Canada) CEO Jim Lopez said in a conference call that specialty cellulose prices, as the company predicted and guided coming into this quarter, are down 7% to 8% on the U.S. dollar basis, enough to affect their earnings. Furthermore, this pricing environment will continue for the balance of the calendar year as these prices are fixed for the year, according to Lopez. 

Rayonier Advanced Materials' (Jacksonville, Fla., USA) CEO Paul Boynton commented on their earnings report that, as expected, specialty cellulose prices were down approximately $68 per ton or 4% from the prior quarter, as of May 1. 

For the year, Boynton confirmed Tembec’s statement that specialty cellulose prices are expected to be 7% to 8% below 2014 levels by year’s end, reflecting the full impact of 2015 price negotiations.