Major Producers Announce New Price Increases for Containerboard and Boxboard
Smurfit Westrock (SW) and International Paper (IP) have announced price hikes of $100 per ton and $80 per ton, respectively, for containerboard effective September 1. These increases follow Packaging Corporation of America’s (PCA) recent announcement of a record-high $140-per-ton increase earlier in the week. Analysts attribute these moves to rising input costs such as recycled fiber, freight, electricity, strong demand, and supply constraints due to facility closures across North America that have reduced production capacity by nearly 10%. In addition to containerboard increases, several producers are also raising prices for boxboard grades like solid bleached sulfate (SBS) and folding boxboard. Smurfit Westrock announced a 4-6% increase on SBS products effective August 10; Sappi followed with similar hikes in late July. Other companies including Manchester Industries and Metsä Board have also raised prices for specific product lines, citing the need to offset rising costs. Industry analysts expect more producers will follow suit as capacity reductions continue and demand remains strong.
Tickers: $CLW $IP $PKG $SW $SWK