|
Norfolk Southern rail line near Asheville will be out for months - Norfolk Southern Railway track running through Asheville, N.C., will be out of service for at least three months due to damage caused by Hurricane Helene.
The deadly Hurricane Helene made landfall Sept. 26, severely flooding and damaging infrastructure and homes across multiple southern states. Hundreds of NS railroaders have been working to restore rail service on impacted rail lines as quickly as possible, NS said on its website.
The railroad's AS Line runs between Morristown, Tenn., to Salisbury, N.C.
NA domestic linerboard prices hold, with little to no pressure reported; box demand called OK, steady, busy - North America’s open market linerboard prices held unchanged this month from last and US export prices mostly stayed put as well, buyer and seller contacts told Fastmarkets’ PPI Pulp & Paper Week.
Boxmakers across North America told of “OK,” “steady” demand and some noted that they were “busy” for September and October. Some called out a “rush” of last-second orders, claiming some end users were low on corrugated box inventory.
US BSK pulp spot markets decrease $15-20/tonne from highs, BHK tumbles $20/tonne on BEK drag - In US pulp spot markets, bleached softwood kraft (BSK) continued a soft decline as buyers pared back remnants of this year’s first-half bull run. Bleached hardwood kraft (BHK) fell more sharply because imported eucalyptus prices competed at lower prices.
Benchmark northern bleached softwood kraft (NBSK) declined to $855-875/tonne net delivered to spot markets in the US East and Midwest through Oct. 18, down $15/tonne, according to Fastmarkets surveying. Since first decreasing in July, the that brought levels down a combined $80/tonne from June’s highwater mark.
Imported, domestic containerboard prices hold in Mexico; demand improvement expected in coming months: sources - After a slight price increase implemented in the domestic containerboard market last month, Mexican domestic prices were unchanged month on month in October, amid stable demand and in line with stability in import prices.
“The mills have been low on orders and fighting for the little that is available,” one source said.
Weak demand, along with an uncertain economic environment in the country, has led market participants to indicate that the recent price increase in containerboard is more closely tied to adjustments in old corrugated container (OCC) prices than to demand for corrugated boxes.
| 
