All respondents of the French cartonboard market said say business was quieter in May. This was certainly attributable in part to the large number of public holidays, but also to changes in the nature of transactions.
Ordering had become more cautious given the uncertainty about the economic environment, EUWID was told. Duplicate orders that had been almost a daily occurrence last year, had evaporated and buyers were now only buying what they were sure to need. Some nervousness is therefore spreading throughout the cartonboard market. However, it is too early for the summer lull, according to one producer.
In light of these developments, GD board manufacturers are having a hard time implementing their announced mark-ups. Higher prices have been agreed for June orders in a few cases, but otherwise prices remained unchanged in May. Implementation was increasingly difficult because buyers were aware that recovered paper prices had recently fallen, market insiders said. Negotiations were often postponed until June, but producers are still trying to implement higher prices for June contracts.
⇒ This article in an excerpt from EUWID's monthly report on the French paper market. The EUWID Price Watch France for May will be published in EUWID Pulp and Paper no. 22 on 31 May.
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