March 2006

Welcome to the KCDA HotSheet

The KCDA Hot Sheet has been developed to alert members to new contracts, market or price changes, and contracts that are nearing renewal.

Timeline

Discount

A New Service from KCDA

 

 

 

School Start-up Orders

Timeline – Start up orders for the 2006-2007 school year may be placed at a time that is   convenient for your district.

 

Discount - Orders placed on or before June 1, 2006 and shipped in July from the KCDA warehouse will receive a 2% discount.

How the discount works- Following shipments of summer orders, KCDA will issue a 2% credit to sites taking delivery of their orders in July.  

 

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Scheduled Supplies - A new Service for Members

Need paper, towels, tissue, can liners this year? Can’t take them all at once?  Want to pay for them after your receive them? KCDA’s new Scheduled Supplies service may be just the answer. 

How it works

Place an order for the school year by your location with a KCDA Customer Service Representative. Let us know when you would like them delivered. For example, 100 boxes of facial tissues: delivery of 20 boxes on the 15th of each month or twice a month, or every other month. Whatever works best for you!

 

Why it is great for you

Pricing: Pricing will be fixed when you place your order and based upon the total quantity ordered, regardless of size of each shipment.

Flexibility:  If you find that one month you need more or less of an item, simply call and we will adjust the delivery schedule.

 

Qualifications

Items: Any KCDA item you use on a regular basis.                 

Time period for shipments: The next school year.

Payment: Billing follows each shipment. 

Flexibility, Firm Pricing, Local availability of items from our $4million of inventory.

Please note: The unstable copy paper market may negatively influence product price and availability as mills allocate available inventory.  Upcoming HotSheets will alert you to any market changes that might influence pricing or availability. 

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Paper Prices on the Rise

Mills have been attempting to increase pricing over the previous 1-2 years, and increases are now taking hold.  KCDA has seen price increases of approximately forty cents + per case for the 8.5”x11”, 20# white papers in the past few months.  Additional price increases are expected the first week of April.  KCDA is bidding paper every quarter in an effort to obtain the lowest pricing.  There are several factors impacting the market place at this time:

  1. The cost of fossil fuel is on the rise again.

  2. Inventories are low.

  3. Several paper mills have CLOSED (International Paper, Badger, Sappi, Weyerhaeuser, Stora Enso, Domtar and Cascade); these closures are indefinite and serve to further reduce inventory. Abitibi has closed several newsprint mills; this will impact pricing for the ruled and unruled newsprint products sold through KCDA.

  4. Pulp mills have CLOSED (Neenah, Sappi, Domtar, Weyerhaeuser, Wausau and Western Forest Products); reducing the availability of raw materials necessary for the production of paper and paper related products.

  5. The cost of transporting the raw materials and finished products has increased.  Less than truck load quantities are now being charge a drop charge of $120.00 to $200.00 per delivery.  Fuel/energy costs are the primary contributor to these increases. There has also been a reduction of available drivers and containers for hauling.  KCDA has encouraged mills to offer pricing based upon delivery via rail cars, but our mils have not found rail to be cost efficient at this time.

  6. At this time, mills are taking “reservations” for paper.  This is a kind word for “allocations”.  Grays Harbor, Domtar, Boise and others are now at approximately 4-5 weeks lead time…if your order fits into the “reservation” list.  KCDA has been purchasing paper in advance to secure pricing and continued availability of all papers to meet the needs of our member districts.

  7. Regarding mill direct orders for full truck load quantities:  KCDA encourages each district to evaluate their current inventories and order at least four to 6 weeks ahead of your anticipated need date.

  8. KCDA will publish further information after our next paper bid opens on April 6th.

Neither KCDA nor the paper industry is able to predict how long this situation will last.

 

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If you wish to have additional staff members added to this list please e-mail us their name and address at customerservice@kcda.org.


King County Directors' Association
18639 - 80th Ave. South, Kent, WA 98064
1-800-422-5019