SAN FRANCISCO, May 29, 2001 (paperloop.com) - For the first time ever, the editors behind Pulp & Paper Week, PPI This Week and PPI Asia News will deliver spot pricing for key grades of pulp, paper and board for U.S., European, and Asian markets on www.paperloop.com. Paperloop, publisher of these newsletters and the leading multimedia information and e-business network for the paper, printing and converting industries, is recognized worldwide as the authority on industry pricing. This new service - the latest business tool to be integrated into paperloop's industry-leading online marketplace - is designed to provide paper industry professionals around the world with an additional way to measure and track price patterns, as well as combat market volatility and cyclicality. At launch, the paperloop.com spot pricing service includes prices for key grades of pulp (NBSK, SBSK, NBHK and SBHK) and containerboard (linerboard and corrugating medium). Paperloop will soon add eucalyptus pulp and recovered paper to the list. This up-to-the-minute pricing will be developed by paperloop's network of editors in the U.S., Europe and Singapore. Much of the information will be based on regular phone calls to key industry sources. The first of paperloop's spot pricing reports was posted last week at www.paperloop.com/spotprice/ and will be updated regularly. Subscribers to paperloop's Gold Access content receive the updates as they are posted, while other readers can view pricing on a monthly basis. All reports are available at no charge to Gold Access subscribers. "Tracking developments in the spot market is a good idea even for those companies that don't participate in the spot market, because spot prices give clues as to what's just over the horizon for contract prices," said Vince Ridley, vice president of paperloop's e-business division. Adds Kurt Schaefer, senior economist at Resource Information Systems, Inc. (RISI), paperloop's forecasting group, "Spot prices are also critical in determining how much downtime the industry takes in a weak market because the spot price often represents the true marginal revenue to a mill from producing additional tonnage."