Verband Vollpappe-Kartonagen (VVK): Increasing cost pressure from manufacturers of solid board and solid board cartons

Solid board and recycled packaging made of solid board are produced from up to 100 percent recovered paper, the purchase prices of which have risen continuously and strongly for about a year - partly due to shortages in commercial collection volumes on the one hand and strong demand on the other. According to the EUWID business service, market observers do not expect the situation to ease in the coming months, but rather to deteriorate further and prices for recycled cartonboard to tend to rise further.

An enormous cost pressure also results from the strong increase in the price of energy, which has been going on for months. According to the German Federal Statistical Office, energy prices have risen significantly in the year to date and were 32.6 percent higher on average in September 2021 than in September 2020. Natural gas had the greatest impact on the year-on-year rate of change for energy, with an increase of 58.9 percent in September 2021 compared with the same month last year. Currently, gas prices are reported to have risen further.

Added to this is the general shortage of raw materials in almost all sectors of German industry, with corresponding price increases for intermediate goods, which were 17.4 percent more expensive in September 2021 than in September 2020, according to the Federal Statistical Office.

The costs of goods logistics are also rising significantly. For example, prices for pallets are currently 180-200 percent higher than last year, and freight forwarders have announced renewed increases of between 10-15 percent for next year. Against this backdrop of increasing massive cost burdens in the value chain, the companies surveyed in the paper, board and cardboard processing sector expect rising sales prices for paper, board and cardboard packaging in the coming months, according to the latest business climate survey by the Munich-based Ifo Institute.