More paper price rises in March

Currency pressures propel paper prices upwards as merchants pass price hikes through to printers.

Across the board price rises in the range of 5% – 8% are bearing down on embattled printers as paper merchants seek to recover currency costs.

Following on from a similar round of increases in November, leading merchants are flagging more hikes to bring pricing into line with the dollar.

“The price increases in November were based on a US-Australian dollar parity of 80 cents. It’s now down around the early 60s. We don’t have any choice,” said one spokesman for a leading merchant.

This was backed up with a survey of other merchants who all rallied around with similar price increases. “Unavoidable… non-negotiable … no scope to absorb the increased costs,” were some of the comments from merchants such as CPI, Edwards Dunlop, Spicers, Focus Paper and Daltons.

Some speciality paper grades will rise even more, some up to 12-15%. A paper mill representative even forecast substantial additional increases in prices from the mills, especially in Indonesia, later in the year.

“I won’t say we’re running at 100% but our order books are very comfortable,” he said.

This came on the back of suggestions that the downturn in USA housing has provoked a shortage of pulp as the demand for construction timber dissipates.
The reaction of the printing industry is likely to be tough but the price rises seem inevitable for an industry that continually cries poor.

“These are tough times for paper merchants to be passing on increases,” said Robert Eastment, Industry Edge publisher and industry analyst. “The argument that cost inputs have risen and must be passed on has considerable merit.”