Germany: Annual talks for 2024 are proving difficult in the cartonboard market
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At the end of the year, the German market for cartonboard and folding cartons is showing a further increase in anxiety in view of the lack of an upturn in demand, despite a slight improvement in employment in some areas.
Demand is still weak on both sides of the market, and hardly any of the EUWID interviewees spoke of concrete signs of improvement in November. Only a few manufacturers of recycled cartonboard have recently reported a slight improvement in order activity. However, this is not a sustainable upward trend. Demand for virgin fiber-based cartonboard remains very subdued, which is also due to the oversupply still on the market.
The market participants surveyed by EUWID are currently focusing mainly on the coming year. The aim now is to get the last two months over the finishing line as well as possible. Against this backdrop, annual talks for 2024 are already underway, but the majority of respondents are said to have not yet achieved any concrete results. As things stand, contracts lasting longer than three months are unlikely to return. A forecast of the required quantities is hardly feasible at present.
