Board Market: A Better Year?

February 2011

Anybody involved in the production or purchase of cartonboard-based product will tell you that 2010 was something of a difficult year, and that is putting things politely and mildly!

The stark facts are that folding box board has increased in price by 31% whilst white lined chipboard has fared little better with price rises of some 25% from the beginning of the year. Stockists are complaining about the lack of material to sell from European mills.

Printers previously dependent upon stockists have found life very difficult, and are likely to continue to do so. This is one more reason for Benson Group to work closely with customers to manage expectations about board availability. All mills are reducing the amount of stock that we as a production company can hold at the mill, thus impacting upon the flexibility of the Benson Group supply-chain. All mills also continue to press for reduced payment terms.

Strong financials have ensured that Benson Group has managed to fund the allocation of both folding box board and white lined chip, whilst kraft has been more difficult, we have maintained this years level.

Supplies from India and the Asia Pacific region have grown in importance to Benson Group during the course of the year. Shipments have, for example, including some 16% of our 2010 folding box board supply. This is likely to make up 22% of the company's 2011 supply.

In the recycled arena, some opportunities to supply recycled board as a replacement for folding box board material have been successful and so have been able to assist with continuity of supply for some customers. FSC® certified recycled boards are available; not all end users seem to value this feature, but some have recognised the dual benefits of switching to this material, albeit low cost is certainly not one of those features.