Corrugated case material prices seem to have reached their zenith in the UK: paper prices remain unchanged, and a few discounts are already being granted for corrugated sheets here and there.
February was another month of slow demand for corrugated case material and corrugated sheets and packaging in the UK. Unlike in the fourth quarter or in January, though, this kind of situation was described as completely normal for February. "It might be the case that we are returning to traditional demand patterns after the pandemic," one EUWID contact suspected.
With demand cooler for months now, stocks of corrugated case material have increased considerably throughout the supply chain. Corrugated case material prices stayed the same in February but were increasingly feeling the pinch and might head lower as soon as March, some experts suspected. Others, by contrast, pointed to tremendous cost increases for paper manufacturers and said that opposition to price cuts was enormous.
Demand for corrugated sheets and packaging was exceptionally quiet in February, too. A few isolated price cuts for corrugated sheets have already occurred in this environment. However, there were also suppliers raising prices.
This article is an excerpt from EUWID's report on the corrugated case material market in the UK. Online subscribers can access the full report and the corresponding EUWID Price Watch UK for February here
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