Paper shortages and increasing prices...

Here is some important background information from the print and paper industry...

In this interesting article published in Printweek today, they report on statistics by Intergraf who are to the Brussels-based umbrella organisation for European national printing industry associations (including the BPIF in the UK). They report "the situation is so acute that in some member countries 40% of the paper needed from mid-February cannot be obtained" 

I wrote an article on this blog in September about paper shortages. Now, as then, there are many reasons for the current supply issues. Last year, over a million tonnes of coated commercial and publication papermaking capacity was taken out of the market by StoraEnso (announced in 2018) with machines being converted to pulp and flexible packaging. Pulp prices have also increased sharply and energy prices have gone stratospheric!

Also, last year two StoraEnso mills in Kvarnsveden and Veitsiluoto mills ceased production (a further million tonnes of graphical paper production out of the market) and Zanders also stopped production - and these are just the ones I can recall!

...and to cap it all there is a a long running strike by the Finnish Paperworkers Union joined recently by UK workers too.

This is not just a European problem, it is a global phenomenon. Bloomberg has reported that shortages in the USA resulted in 100 million catalogues not being printed for the Christmas season.

So, it is hardly surprising that there are shortages, so please remember to discuss projects well ahead of time, otherwise you may be disappointed!

You can read the full PrintWeek article here... 

https://www.printweek.com/news/article/intergraf-spiralling-paper-prices-and-shortages-damaging-print

Posted by Justin Hobson 25.01.2022

Paper shortages?

...not quite, but there are some supply issues in the market!

At this time of year, there is usually a seasonal spike in demand, however this year millions of tonnes of commercial and publication papermaking capacity is being taken out of the market. Pulp prices have also increased sharply this year. Earlier this year I wrote about the closure of two StoraEnso mills in Kvarnsveden and Veitsiluoto mills which will actually cease production in the next couple of months, which takes more than a million tonnes of paper production out of the market.

The result is that papers which would normally be available from a mill in 4 weeks may now take 8 or 10 weeks, so planning ahead is a very smart idea!

You can read the Printweek article here...

https://www.printweek.com/news/article/paper-supply-crunch-buyers-urged-to-plan-well-ahead

Posted by Justin Hobson 27.09.2021