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By Jesse Neese RISI

MDF customers on fiber allocation. To make matters worse, demand for wood-based pelletized fuel continues to increase, putting even more pressure on the already tight fiber supplv.

Although more expensive than shavings and sawdust, wood chips are generally available and, in some regions, even plentiful. However, research published in RISI's North American Particleboard & North American Medium Density Fiberboard

Cost Benchmarking studies show that only a handful of PB and MDF mills can use chips as part of their fiber mix due to process constraints. The few producers lucky enough to be able to utilize chips in their production process face higher raw material costs, but at least have sufficient fiber to continue operating.

As if the threat of running out of fiber were not enough, prices for urea (Please turn to page 42)