Resolute Forest Products Inc 's

In general, our products, other than tissue, are globally-traded commodities and are marketed in close to 80 countries. The markets in which we compete are highly competitive and, aside from quality specifications to meet customer needs, the production of our products, other than tissue, does not depend upon a proprietary process or formula. Pricing and the level of shipments of our products are influenced by the balance between supply and demand as affected by global economic conditions, changes in consumption and capacity, the level of customer and producer inventories, and fluctuations in currency exchange rates. Any material decline in prices for our products or other adverse developments in the markets for our products could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations or financial condition. Prices for our products have been and are likely to continue to be highly volatile.

We compete with a number of other major market pulp producers with operations in North America. Market pulp is a globally-traded commodity for which competition exists in all major markets. We produce six major grades of market pulp (northern and southern softwood, northern and southern hardwood, recycled bleached kraft and fluff) and compete with other producers from South America (eucalyptus hardwood and radiata pine softwood), Europe (northern hardwood and softwood) and Asia (mixed tropical hardwood). Price, quality, service and fiber sources are considered the main competitive determinants.

We are an integrated manufacturer of tissue products and compete with several major competitors in the North American tissue market. The key competitive attributes in this market include price, product quality, service and customer relationships. Competition is also significantly affected by geographic location, as freight costs represent a material portion of the costs. We compete with branded products and low cost private-label products and with the three largest North American producers representing approximately 65% of the North American capacity.

We compete in North America with both large North American and numerous smaller local lumber producers in a highly competitive market. We also compete with European producers in the North American market during periods of favorable currencies and prices. Because there are few distinctions between lumber from different producers, competition is primarily based on price. Competition is also affected by cost and availability of wood, freight cost and labor.
Newsprint is produced by numerous manufacturers worldwide. We face competition from both large global producers and numerous smaller regional producers. Price, quality and customer relationships are important competitive determinants.