The six-month (Dec ’21-May ’22) average price of paper in the EU rose by 18%, compared with the previous six months, to EUR 1,268/MT, driven by robust demand and limited supply availability. The price increase was attributed to high input costs (energy, raw materials, freight), which have escalated since Russia invaded Ukraine in late February 2022. Price increases were seen across all grades, with cartonboard most impacted over the last six months.
While the six-month (Dec ’21-May ’22) average price of paper in the US rose by 10%, compared with the previous six months, to USD 1,048/MT, driven by increased costs of labour, energy, transportation and chemicals. In addition, the COVID-19 pandemic caused significant disruption in the US labour force. According to the Bureau of Labour Statistics, in March 2022, the nation had 11.5 million job vacancies to fill and not enough workers to do so. The most impacted industries are transportation, food sector and healthcare.
From economical to political, all the factors impacting the paper market have been analysed to provide a market outlook for the next six months. Mintec’s market outlooks (schedule) provide insights on factors shaping the market dynamics of various commodities, providing the opportunity for market participants to stay ahead of factors that will impact procurement decisions. Please visit our Mintec Analytics platform to find out more.
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