Buyers put up resistance against further increases in costs
In recent weeks, the market for recycled corrugated case material has continued to be shaped by producers’ attempts to raise their sales prices further. In France as well, suppliers were aiming for higher prices for September deliveries, but there was no agreement on the targeted price levels. In most cases, there was no change in prices for September shipments. Paper producers explained that the plans have been postponed but not abandoned. They say they will try to get the mark-ups implemented for October, preferably from the first of the month. A few sceptical voices said this was quite unlikely, especially since recovered paper prices seem to have started sliding again rather than rising.
This hike had been basically accepted on the French market, producers said, but then signals from the German market started suggesting that the increase was not going to take effect there, and this "took the wind out of the sails” of the French plans. There was also strong resistance put up by converters, who say they are not in a position to absorb any more cost increases.
