A recent short survey by the Industrial Association for Paper and Film Packaging (IPV) shows: More than 85 per cent of member companies describe the current supply situation for plastics as poor.
The shortage of raw materials in the plastics sector has caught the packaging industry off guard. This was the result of a short survey by the IPV from 4 March. As a result, the difficulties in the supply of plastic raw materials could not have been foreseen. More than 85 per cent of member companies describe the current supply situation for plastics as poor, half even as very poor.
The cost of procuring materials has already risen enormously. It is mainly granulates and films that have become noticeably more expensive. Price increases of 60 per cent, for example for OPP films, are currently not an outlier. The prices for HDPE flat films, but also PE-LD, PE-LLD and PP have risen noticeably.
Further price increases expected
Depending on the material, prices rose by up to 100 per cent in individual cases compared to the third and fourth quarters of 2020. Even for goods that had already been ordered and promised, price negotiations had to be conducted in some cases in order to secure delivery. And the suppliers of packaging films have already Further price increases announced. There are also fundamental procurement difficulties.
„The situation is causing us to worry. Some of our members are already worried about this development. problems with production in March get. The unexpected delivery delays have already necessitated changes to the production schedule. There is even a threat of production interruptions in the medium term.“ Karsten Hunger, IPV Managing Director
Situation threatens to deteriorate further
Even the member companies that currently have fewer problems admit that they are currently taking precautions to significantly increase their own stock levels. This is causing unnecessary additional costs in procurement and stock management and will not ease the overall market situation. It is not yet possible to accurately predict future developments. Many companies are planning from day to day.
After all, 57 per cent do not yet feel that their production is being acutely affected, but some do feel increasingly threatened. 86 per cent see Tense about the near future and expect the supply situation to deteriorate in the coming weeks.
Sector lacks plastic raw materials
Where does the spontaneous price increase come from? Suppliers speak of Force Majeure, so from force majeure, triggered by the surprisingly rapid recovery of individual sectors and redirected raw material imports to China.
The member companies of the IPV urgently call on the entire supply chain to pull out all the stops to eliminate the bottlenecks and ensure the supply of packaged food and other system-relevant products.
SourceIPV : IPV
