Wood Products
The wood products segment reported an operating loss of $5 million in the quarter, only slightly wider than the operating loss of $4 million in the third quarter. Quarter-over-quarter pricing improved by $22 per thousand board feet, or 6%, but the effect was more than offset by the 39 million board feet reduction in shipments due to seasonality and lingering uncertainty around the strength of the recovery, and higher manufacturing costs associated with road-building and log transportation, as well as higher stumpage fees. This caused an increase in the delivered cost of $26 per thousand board feet, to $377. Consistent with last quarter, the company recorded over 70 million board feet of downtime in the quarter, for 240 million in 2019. EBITDA in the segment was unchanged in the quarter, at $4 million.
For 2019, the wood products segment recorded an operating loss of $6 million, compared to operating income of $169 million in 2018. The change reflects a $90 per thousand board feet drop in average transaction price, or 20%, and a reduction of 115 million board feet in shipments, in each case reflecting a sharp drop in market prices in the second half of 2018 and a slow recovery through 2019. The delivered cost rose only slightly year-over-year, reflecting mostly higher fiber costs largely offset by the favorable effects of the weaker Canadian dollar. EBITDA in the segment reached $28 million, compared to $201 million in 2018.
Newsprint
Newsprint’s operating income decreased by $4 million in the quarter, to breakeven. The average transaction price fell by $30 per metric ton from the third quarter, mostly reflecting difficult conditions in offshore markets, which represent approximately 35% of newsprint shipments, and to a lesser extent the downward pressure within North America. The delivered cost improved by $15 per metric ton, reflecting mostly the cost benefits of idling Augusta, which only operated for two weeks in the quarter. Shipments and finished goods inventory were both unchanged in the quarter. EBITDA declined by $4 million, to $7 million in the quarter.
For 2019, newsprint’s operating income was $49 million, a $25 million reduction from 2018. Year-over-year, the average transaction price slipped by $14 per metric ton to $588, with most of the weakness for the year coming in export markets. The delivered cost was essentially unchanged as the impact of higher chip prices was offset by the favorable effect of the weaker Canadian dollar and a lower depreciation expense in the segment. Shipments were down by 192,000 metric tons in the year, or 13%, as a result of lower global demand. EBITDA was $78 million in 2019, down from $140 million in 2018.
In November, the company announced the indefinite idling of the Augusta mill, with capacity of 214,000 metric tons, as a result of the decline in North American newsprint consumption. The company took about 160,000 metric tons of temporary downtime in 2019; the decision allows it to focus production on fewer, more competitive mills and to eliminate fixed costs associated with surplus capacity.
Specialty Papers
The specialty papers segment incurred an operating loss of $1 million in the quarter, down by $5 million from the third quarter. The reduction is almost entirely due to lower pricing, which decreased by $30 per short ton on softer market conditions, even as shipments rose seasonally by 12,000 short tons. The delivered cost increased by less than 1%, and finished goods inventory fell by 18%, to 40,000 shorts tons, a record low. The segment generated EBITDA of $10 million, down from $15 million in the previous quarter.
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