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Program

Monday, 27 September, 2021 - 12:00

Session One - The Future of the Wood Products Market

All times are set in Eastern Standard Time. 

12:00pm

Registration and light lunch

1:00pm

Welcome remarks

1:10pm

Moderator

Panelists

Scott Elston

Vice President of Business Development

Forest City Trading Group, LLC

Tyler Freres

Vice President, Sales

Freres Lumber Co., Inc.

Panel discussion: Navigating a volatile lumber market

  • Consequences of labour challenges
  • Impact of drive towards sustainability
  • Innovations within the wood sector
  • Managing businesses during market volatility
2:00pm

North American lumber outlook: Will unprecedented volatility continue to rock the industry?

  • What are the underlying drivers of the historic pricing volatility? How does inventory in distribution, pandemic related supply constraints, and surging remodeling demand fit into the picture?
  • To what degree will the work from home movement, outmigration from urban cores and demographic trends impact lumber demand in the coming years?
  • Do we have sufficient sawmill capacity in North America to meet the step-change in demand the market is currently experiencing? And if not, where can more supply be sourced?
  • Can the current cash bonanza the industry is experiencing be sustained beyond 2021?
2:30pm

Coffee and Tea Networking Break

3:00pm

Structural panels outlook – OSB capacity, import levels, profitability

  • The outlook for supply and demand given the constraints engendered by the spread of COVID-19
  • OSB capacity and levels within North America currently
  • Offshore import levels within structural panels
  • Exploring current and future profitability levels in the sector
3:30pm

North American particleboard, MDF, and engineered wood products

  • Analysis of demand and key end use market
  • Trends in supply
  • International trade and market supply
  • Examination of costs and profitability given record changes to price levels
4:00pm

Panelists

Thomas Meth

Co-founder and Executive Vice President of Sales and Marketing

Enviva

The role of biomass in the global energy transition to net-zero

  • What innovations/applications are on the forefront of the global energy transition?
  • The role of biomass in net zero America in 2050?
  • How sustainable is biomass as an energy?
  • Projections for the rise in demand for wood pellets in the U.S. and around the world
4:30pm

Fastmarkets RISI biomass outlook

  • Forecasting global demand for wood pellets
  • Outlook on wood pellet production
  • Is there sufficient wood products waste to avoid using virgin pulp for wood pellets?
5:00pm

Registration and networking cocktail reception

Tuesday, 28 September, 2021 - 12:30

Session Two - Macroeconomics, market overviews and forecasts for the year ahead

All times are set in Eastern Standard Time. 

8:15am

Registration

9:15am

Welcome remarks and presentation of the CEO of the Year Award

9:25am

Keynote address from CEO winner Mark Sutton

Thoughts on the market in 2020 and looking ahead to the future

9:45am

Moderator

Panelists

Keith Ledbetter

Managing Director and Chief Financial Officer - North American Packaging and Paper Division

DS Smith

CEO Panel: How are customers and the supply chain adapting in post-Covid world

  • What are our customers current needs?
  • Impact of staff shortages and changing working patterns across the whole supply chain
  • Deep dive on sustainability within pulp markets  
  • Capital allocation and investment strategy

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10:30am

Coffee and Tea Networking Break

11:00am

Global macroeconomic outlook

  • World economic drivers
  • Expected social, political, and economic headwinds and tailwinds
  • How is North American economy affected by these
11:30am

Outlook for the housing market – Spread of COVID-19 supercharged the market, outlook for single-family and multifamily housing starts

  • The housing market began 2021 on a strong note as demographics continue to support shelter demand
  • Housing construction is hot but spiraling material prices like lumber pose a risk
  • Affordability could become an increasing problem should interest rates rise significantly after the notable price appreciation in 2020
  • This presentation will examine the underlying fundamental demand for shelter and household formations and what that will mean for housing starts through 2023
12:00pm

Networking Lunch Break

1:30pm

Peter Barynin

Principal Economist, North American Timber

Fastmarkets RISI

US Timber Markets: Identifying risk in a post-pandemic environment

  • What is our 2-year timber outlook by region?
  • Will record harvest demand sustain higher log prices?
  • Could rising processing costs limit stumpage? 
  • How has COVID permanently changed the outlook?
2:00pm

World pulp outlook: the aftershocks and impact of the record price run

  • Explore the key factors in the leadup to the historic rise in prices in 2021
  • Discuss the impact this has had on end-use markets and inventories throughout the supply chain
  • What does the “new normal” look like for pulp demand?
  • Review the long list of potential capacity expansion projects across the world
  • Share Fastmarkets’ two year outlook for market pulp supply and demand
2:30pm

Coffee and Tea Networking Break

3:00pm

John North

Senior Economist, International Timber

Fastmarkets RISI

Outlook for the global timber market (focus on hardwood chips & softwood logs)

  • Diminishing surplus of European beetle-killed softwood logs
  • Full Russian ban on log exports expected by 2022
  • Who will step in and fill the supply deficit as Chinese demand increases?
  • What does the new trade dispute between Australia and China mean for Oceania log exports?
  • Will exemptions to quotas and tariffs from US/China Trade War allow the US to become competitive in the market again?
  • How will rising Chinese and Japanese demand and constrained supply impact woodchip prices?
  • Is there enough fiber from Southeast Asian woodchips to supply the increasing demand?

 

 

 

3:45pm

Networking Cocktail Reception

Wednesday, 29 September, 2021 - 12:15

Session Three - Paper, pulp and packaging perspectives

All times are set in Eastern Standard Time.

8:00am

Registration

9:00am

Welcome remarks

9:05am

How freight railroads continue delivering for the American economy

  • Understanding freight rail's critical link in the supply chain

 

 

9:40am

Truck: Challenges of transporting forest products by road

  • Impact of pandemic on availability of truck drivers  
10:10am

Kaj Fahllund

Vice President, Pulp and Paper

Pesmel Corporation

Automated warehousing at the heart of the digitized supply chain

  • Benefits of improved intralogistics at the mill and converting plant
  • Integrated logistics at the port/roadside/railway 
  • Improved mill and supply chain efficiency
10:30am

Coffee and Tea Networking Break

11:00am

Moderator

Adam Josephson

Vice President, Equity Research Analyst

KeyBanc Capital Markets

Panelists

Specialty paper: assessing the sustainability of Covid-related impacts and the real impact of ESG/sustainability

  • Industry demand trends
  • Supply chain disruptions
  • ESG/sustainability
  • State of the pulp market
11:30am

Derek Mahlburg

Director, North American Graphic Paper

Fastmarkets RISI

Global containerboard outlook

  • Blowout demand performance in 2020
  • How long will pandemic shifts that powered demand growth persist?
  • Will there be enough growth to absorb incoming capacity?
  • Outlook for global demand/supply/trade
12:00pm

Networking Lunch Break

1:30pm

Hannah Zhao

Senior Economist, Global Recovered Paper

Fastmarkets RISI

Outlook for global recovered paper markets

  • Shifting international RCP trade flows
  • The impacts of COVID-19 pandemic on RCP markets
  • Future trends in demand, supply and trade
2:00pm

Derek Mahlburg

Director, North American Graphic Paper

Fastmarkets RISI

Global graphic paper outlook

  • How is demand faring as pandemic eases in some countries?
  • Massive capacity shakeout occurred, implications for operating rates
  • Global supply/demand balance
  • Rising costs and profitability for remaining mills
2:30pm

Coffee and Tea Networking Break

3:00pm

Global tissue outlook

  • Record growth in global tissue demand in 2020 due to COVID-19
  • But what goes up must also go down
  • Short -term prospects suffering from pantry destocking
  • Longer-term prospects remain positive
  • Overcapacity in many regions but less in North America

 

3:30pm

Global dissolving pulp outlook

  • Manmade cellulosic fiber capacity expansion continues at a rapid pace
  • Consumer and brand focus on sustainability driving further gains for viscose fibers against cotton and synthetics
  • Dissolving pulp cost curve set to shift lower as new capacity ramps up in South America
  • Recycled cellulose fibers transition from pilot projects to industrial scale
4:00pm

Close of Conference

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