What are capacities based on?
Mill Asset Database and Analytical Cornerstone
Table of Contents
Fastmarkets reports capacities using nominal (also called design or installed) capacity for each production asset—such as a paper machine, pulp line, lumber mill, or panel mill.
1. Nominal (Design) Capacity
- This is the manufacturer‑stated maximum output of a machine or line.
- It represents what the equipment is designed to produce under ideal operating conditions.
- It does not account for market downtime, supply interruptions, labour shortages, or other real‑world disruptions.
2. Annual vs. Daily Capacity
Fastmarkets typically receives annual capacity data from companies or equipment suppliers.
To use capacities consistently in mass and energy balance calculations, annual figures are converted into daily rates:
- Annual capacity ÷ 357 operating days → daily capacity (for Pulp & Paper)
In some cases, suppliers provide daily capacity directly, and Fastmarkets multiplies by the appropriate number of operating days (see below) to calculate annual values.
3. Operating Days Assumptions by Industry
Different mill types operate on different production day assumptions:
| Mill Type | Operating Days/Year |
|---|---|
| Pulp & Paper | 357 days |
| Lumber | 250 days |
| OSB | 350 days |
| Plywood | 300 days |
| MDF & Particleboard | 350 days |
4. What Annual Capacity Includes
Annual capacity does include:
- Expected planned maintenance downtime
Annual capacity does not include:
- Market‑related downtime
- Supply shocks
- Extraordinary shutdowns or curtailments
Those are considered operational variability, not design capacity.