Finnish paper strike halves Q2 output

The after-effects of the Finnish paper dispute are now starting to emerge, with paper and board production slashed to half during the second quarter of this year.

The seven-week dispute caused paper and paperboard production to fall 47.1% year-on-year to 1.5m tonnes in Q2, according to the Finnish Forest Industries Federation.

Chemical and mechanical pulp production during the period was down to 1.4m tonnes, a 56% reduction in production compared
to last year.

Operating levels at mills during the second-quarter were 40% of normal levels.

Up until June paper and paperboard output in Finland totalled 5.2m tonnes, down 23.3%.

Finnish forest industry companies have around 40% of their total output capacity based in Finland.