Paper price rises hit Aussie marketsFriday 4 Apr 2014
The major driver of the price increases is the increased cost of imported paper over 2013 and early 2014. The depreciation of the Australian dollar has been the primary driver of higher imported paper prices. At the same time, other costs, including shipping and fuel, have also increased, which IndustryEdge has observed in freight rates in the woodchip export industry where exporters charter entire ships. Despite the higher prices paid by importers, many were locked in to sell-side deals that reduced margins and for some, margins were clearly reduced to the point they were making losses. To date, other than the highly commoditised uncoated wood free (think of general office, copy and writing papers), prices for all other grades of printing and communication papers are around or less than half of the value of the currency depreciation since MQ’13. The softer price increases are partly a result of buy-side pricing agreements that are just now washing through, with the full currency impact only being picked up in new contract prices. It is this situation which is prompting the current round of announced price rises. Inevitable though they may be, paper price increases come at a hard time for printers and the downstream elements of the printed communications value chain. Regardless, industry media outlets have reported that many printers intend to pass the price increase on. Source: Industry Edge | ||
Copyright 2004-2026 © Innovatek Ltd. All rights reserved. |
