Wood chip costs in Canada

The wood chip cost discrepancy between pulp mills in Western and Eastern Canada was the lowest it has been in 10 years in the 4Q/10, reports the “North American Wood Fiber Review”. Over the past 20 years, pulp mills in Eastern Canada have consistently had higher wood fiber costs than the mills in the Western provinces with the exception of a short period in 1995.  In the 4Q/10, softwood chip prices had fallen in Quebec and Ontario and increased in British Columbia and Alberta resulting in the smallest cost gap between the two regions in 10 years.