An unusually strong slump in demand and deliveries continued on the pan-European cartonboard market in the third quarter. The twin factors contributing to this downturn were consumers’ spending reluctance and folding carton makers running down their stocks.
A variety of converters painted a picture of a slow summer, adding that demand for cartonboard had been 20 to 30 per cent weaker than last year so far in 2023. Manufacturers told EUWID that they had sometimes taken several weeks of commercial downtime at their cartonboard machines or curbed their output to somehow get to grips with surplus supply. Nonetheless, prices for both GC and GD board pointed slightly lower again on the Polish market in the third quarter.
Fresh-fibre and recycled fibre board suppliers said that the Polish market was not quite in as bad a shape as other countries. Order intake was reportedly pretty decent over the summer months. Sellers mentioned thick order books, especially for August, in connection with Christmas business. Ordering was more cautious in September, which was rather atypical for the start of autumn and might suggest that a deterioration was looming, a variety of producers stated.
⇒ This is an excerpt from the complete Polish paper and board market to be published in EUWID Packaging Markets 21/2023.
