Label paper manufacturers were by and large pleased with demand in the first quarter.
Comments about workloads ranged from "slightly sluggish” and "normal for this traditionally slower time of year” to "good”.
Producers point out that deliveries had been unusually high in the last quarter of 2018, as many converters had brought forward orders into the final quarter of the year after producers unveiled plans for massive price hikes with effect from 1st January. Demand had been cooler than normal in the first three months of 2019 as a result.