The order situation for cartonboard producers and converters appears to be stabilising on the market in Germany.
Machine bookings are better than last year and several players reported well-filled order books. Nonetheless, the situation is not good enough for cartonboard producers to forgo further downtime measures, respondents say. In the case of recycled board, such measures are much less common now than in 2023, respondents agree.
One cartonboard producer’s announcement of price hikes for GD board and unlined chipboard came as a surprise to nearly all EUWID respondents. Insiders say they knew such plans existed, but expected announcements rather toward the end of the first quarter, especially since some market participants were discussing further reductions in February.
⇒ This is an excerpt from the complete German paper and board market to be published in EUWID Packaging Markets 04/2024.
