Austrian corrugated board under pressure

„Without corrugated cardboard packaging, modern goods transport would not be possible today,“ says Kaar. „Since the coronavirus pandemic at the latest, it has become clear that we are systemically relevant.“ Over two thirds of all goods transported in Austria are packaged in corrugated cardboard. „This makes corrugated board the number one transport packaging,“ says Kaar.

Increased demand from the food, beverage and consumer goods industry (54 per cent), followed by furniture, electronic parts, machinery and vehicles (19 per cent), as well as logistics and online retail (12 per cent) played a significant role in this. Ongoing problems with supply chains and price surges for raw materials are currently putting companies under massive pressure. Since the beginning of 2021, the price of base paper - the most important raw material for corrugated board - has jumped by up to 70 per cent.

Added to this are the extremely sharp increases in prices for electricity, gas, logistics, starch, colours and pallets due to the current tense situation on the international energy market. „This is exacerbating the price pressure enormously. We are challenged like never before, to ensure the supply of corrugated board packaging,“ says Stephan Kaar. Due to the ongoing price increases for raw materials, there have also been adjustments to the price of corrugated board. There is currently no improvement in sight“, says Kaar.