Surging Corrugated Box Prices Propel Suppliers' Revenues

IndexBox has just published a new report: 'World - Cartons, Boxes And Cases Of Corrugated Paper Or Paperboard - Market Analysis, Forecast, Size, Trends And Insights'. Here is a summary of the report's key findings.

In H1 2021, the trade volume in the global corrugated paper box market totalled 1.9M tons, dropping by 5% compared to the same period last year. Despite that, it rose by 16% to $3.6B in value terms due to the average carton box price increased by approximately 23% to $1,882 per ton. Germany, the U.S., the Netherlands and China remain the leading suppliers in the global corrugated paper box market, accounting for 41% of total export volume. The Netherlands, Mexico and France are the largest importers of paperboard cases worldwide.

Global Corrugated Paper Box Exports

In the first half of 2021, global exports of cartons and boxes of corrugated paperboard amounted to 1.9M tons, decreasing by 5% compared to the same period in 2020. In value terms, the supplies jumped by 16% to $3.6B, while the average export price rose by 23% (compared to those of H1 2020) to $1,882 per ton due to increased demand combined with limited supply rising energy costs and high freight rates.

Last year, approx. 6.1M tons of cartons, boxes and cases of corrugated paper or paperboard were exported worldwide, growing by 4.3% on the previous year. In value terms, exports stood at $9B (IndexBox estimates).

Germany (810K tons), the U.S. (651K tons), the Netherlands (528K tons) and China (523K tons) represented roughly 41% of total exports in 2020. Poland (347K tons) took a 5.7% share (based on tons) of total exports, which put it in second place, followed by Italy (5.2%). Turkey (244K tons), Austria (239K tons), Belgium (206K tons), Mexico (198K tons), Spain (192K tons), Guatemala (186K tons) and the Czech Republic (137K tons) occupied a minor share of global exports.

In value terms, the largest corrugated paper box supplying countries worldwide were China ($1.5B), the U.S. ($1.1B) and Germany ($1.1B), with a combined 42% share of the total value. These countries were followed by the Netherlands, Poland, Italy, Austria, Turkey, Spain, Belgium, Mexico, the Czech Republic and Guatemala, which together accounted for a further 33%.

The average corrugated paper box export price stood at $1,491 per ton in 2020, dropping by -1.6% against the previous year. There were significant differences in the average prices amongst the major exporting countries. The country with the highest price was China ($2,910 per ton), while Guatemala ($767 per ton) was amongst the lowest. Last year, the most notable rate of growth in terms of prices was attained by China, while the other global leaders experienced more modest paces of growth.

World's Largest Corrugated Paper Box Importers

The purchases of the seven significant importers of cartons, boxes and cases of corrugated paper or paperboard, namely the Netherlands, Mexico, France, Germany, the U.S., Belgium and Canada, represented more than a third of total import. Switzerland (139K tons), the UK (125K tons), the Czech Republic (116K tons), Ireland (97K tons), Hungary (96K tons) and Hong Kong SAR (92K tons) followed a long way behind the leaders.

In value terms, the Netherlands ($701M), Mexico ($668M) and the U.S. ($600M) appeared to be the countries with the highest levels of imports in 2020, together comprising 25% of global imports. Germany, France, Canada, Belgium, Switzerland, the UK, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Ireland and Hong Kong SAR lagged somewhat behind, together accounting for a further 35%.

Source: IndexBox Market Intelligence Platform