The corrugated board manufacturers organised in the German Corrugated Board Industry Association (VDW) reported an increase in sales of 3.9% for the fourth quarter of 2020, while revenue fell by 4.6%.
The members of the German Association of the Corrugated Board Industry (VDW) recorded a 3.9 per cent increase in sales in the fourth quarter of 2020 compared to the same period of the previous year (adjusted for working days). In absolute figures, this corresponds to a Sales increase of 173.5 million square metres of corrugated board.
Overall, the VDW organised corrugated board manufacturers sold over 2.1 billion square metres in the last three months of the year. VDW Executive Director Dr Oliver Wolfrum cites the following reasons, among others, for the significant increase from October to December a stable situation on the customer side despite the lockdown.
Online trade ensures sales growth for corrugated board
For example, the Demand from the consumer goods industry by 8.1 per cent in December alone. According to Wolfrum, the change in consumer purchasing behaviour is also contributing to the positive sales trend.
„Due to the restrictions on bricks-and-mortar retail, consumers are increasingly shopping online again, as they did in the spring.“ Dr Oliver WolfrumVDW Managing Director
According to the E-Commerce Association bevh industry turnover with goods rose from 72.6 billion euros to 83.3 billion euros in 2020. This corresponds to an increase of 14.6 per cent compared to 2019.
„There Nine out of ten shipping goods in corrugated board “The significant growth in volumes is offset by a worrying trend in revenue, however,„ says Wolfrum. With average revenue of 52.2 cents per square metre of corrugated board, the fourth quarter of 2020 was 4.6% lower than the same period in the previous year.
Price increases for base paper announced
Companies are feeling additional pressure on the cost side. From September to December, the Average paper prices increased by 12.9 per cent and are currently at a price level last seen in September 2019. At that time, however, the company's own average revenue was 7.2 per cent higher than at the end of 2020.
For March there are already Further price increases for corrugated base paper, which will further increase the economic pressure on corrugated board manufacturers. „The gap between the prices for corrugated board and paper is currently widening to such an extent that some members believe the breaking point has been reached,“ says the VDW-Managing Director.
Source: German Association of the Corrugated Board Industry (VDW)
