Industry sources report nearly non-stop production at German containerboard mills over the Christmas and New Year's holidays.
The market for recycled corrugated case material in Germany reportedly had a strong start to 2015. This positive market situation has led to initial speculation that there might be a new price round at the end of the month. However, industry experts are sceptical about manufacturers' chances to implement price hikes in January or February. This would largely depend on the development of inventory levels and recovered paper prices, they said.
According to paper producers, demand for recycled corrugated case material was good at the end of 2014. No significant increase in paper inventories has been observed until the end of week 51. This also meant that Christmas discounts were not an issue across the board, EUWID respondent explained. Only a few manufacturers had offered rebates in December.
