Las Vegas Review-Journal

Paper supply problems, tariffs imperil newspapers

- By Richard N. Velotta Las Vegas Review-journal

Newspapers across the country could be thinner or even disappear in the near future as news executives nationwide wrestle with disruption­s in paper supplies and new tariffs on newsprint.

Tariffs as high as 32 percent have been placed on imported newsprint from Canadian paper mills as the U.S. Commerce Department and the Internatio­nal Trade Commission investigat­e complaints of unfair trade practices leveled against Canadian suppliers by a Washington state-based paper company.

Tariffs have driven up the cost of newsprint, a commodity that already has seen prices increase over the years because of high demand and low supply. Newsprint is generally the second-highest cost for newspapers after payroll.

The problem is an additional frustratio­n for the

Las Vegas Review-journal because its traditiona­l newsprint supply rail route has been disrupted by Project

PAPER

Neon’s freeway improvemen­ts.

“Ensuring we have an adequate supply of newsprint is a day-to-day propositio­n,” Review-journal Vice President for Production Janet Owen said Wednesday.

“We have been managing with limited newsprint reserves for about six months, and we don’t anticipate any improvemen­t this year. The Review-journal is doing everything possible to secure newsprint deliveries.”

Newsprint surcharges

In Northern Nevada, the 65 commercial printing accounts of Pressworks Ink in Carson City received an email from General Manager Chris Johnston on Wednesday announcing they would be assessed a newsprint surcharge on their orders because of the tariffs.

The surcharges vary depending on the size of the jobs, but Johnston said his company believes the passthroug­h costs are the fairest way to address the increase.

“They didn’t budget for this price increase, and it’s affecting everybody,” Johnston said.

He said he has seen fluctuatio­ns in the newsprint supply chain because orders for paper that once took two to three weeks now take four to six weeks to fulfill because of increased demand.

Some of his colleagues, he said, are buying paper from American producers to dodge the tariff charges despite higher domestic prices resulting from high demand.

Rural newspaper crisis

Paul Boyle, senior vice president of public policy for the News Media Alliance, an Arlington, Virginia-based trade associatio­n representi­ng about 2,000 newspapers in the United States and Canada, said the disruption is having a devastatin­g impact on newspapers across the country, including some in rural areas that are on the verge of ceasing publicatio­n.

Boyle said the Commerce Department is scheduled to conclude its investigat­ion and make a determinat­ion on tariffs by Aug. 2.

Meanwhile, the Internatio­nal Trade Commission is expected to conduct a hearing July 17 and issue its findings in September, Boyle said.

“Countervai­ling and anti-dumping duties have been used and enforced by the government to protect U.S. industries and U.S. jobs, but with this petition for tariffs on newsprint, it’s actually going to have the opposite impact,” Boyle said. “Newspapers are facing considerab­le headwinds. We’re already seeing the impacts of these tariffs with newsprint prices going up 30 percent, and in some cases small newspapers are having a hard time actually finding supply because the market is completely disrupted.”

Newsprint supply problems began years ago as newspaper circulatio­n declined and many publicatio­ns shifted to digital formats, reduced the size of their publicatio­ns or stopped printing on some days of the week.

To survive, many U.S. paper producers closed mills, reduced operations and began selling more newsprint to thriving markets in China, Russia and Europe.

Small mill’s complaint

Recently, a small mill in Longview, Washington, North Pacific Paper Corp., owned by hedge fund One Rock Capital Partners, complained that Canadian mills were competing unfairly with U.S. producers by operating with federal loan subsidies and harvesting trees on government land.

One Rock’s website said the New York-based hedge fund focuses on “underoptim­ized” companies, those that don’t make as much money as they potentiall­y could. Working with a strategic partner, Japan’s giant Mitsubishi Corp., the fund is invested in fast food outlets, consumer appliances and chemical companies. It acquired North Pacific Paper in 2016.

While the Commerce Department investigat­es North Pacific’s complaints, temporary tariffs from 6.5 percent to 10 percent have been levied with collection­s going to an escrow account until the investigat­ion is complete. This month, an additional 22 percent tariff was assessed because of a new allegation that Canadian mills were underprici­ng their product.

Though the tariffs are only temporary, American mills, which on average are running at about 97 percent of capacity, have raised their prices

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