2021 European Containerboard Mills Outlook: Current Competitiveness and Medium-Term Risk Scenarios

A strong containerboard market is driving record high prices and operating rates in Western and Central Europe. Understand the potential and the risks.

These are appealing times for producers to expand capacity, whether by installing new machines, machine conversions or mill acquisitions.

While singly most projects make sense, all of them together may lead to regional overcapacity. Which containerboard grades and producers are at greatest risk in a potentially weakening market?

This timely study estimates the likelihood of two potential outcomes for all major Western and Central European containerboard assets:
  • Forced closure and potential takeover
  • Voluntary closure or other capacity reduction
What are the options for Europe’s containerboard producers?

Many containerboard producers must evaluate the future competitiveness of their operations. Will they survive on their current strategy, or:
  • Upgrade the ageing equipment? The average technical age of European containerboard machines is 27 years.
  • Increase “swing” capacity? 23% of European containerboard machines also produce other paper or board grades.
  • Divest some of the liquid assets?
  • Shut down some machines completely?
  • Consolidate with another producer?
Get comparative metrics for each facility’s asset quality
  • Capacities
  • Product mix
  • Technical age of machines
  • Importance for the company
See how mills rank for cost competitiveness
  • Cash cost estimates
  • Utilities cost estimates
  • Direct cost estimates
  • Financial risk evaluation
Consider other relevant factors for facilities and companies
  • Swing product portfolio
  • Corrugating integration
  • Recovered paper supply
  • Risk of closure

Request more information


What’s happening in the forest products market today?

Get the latest market insights from our team of forest products experts

The plans are subject to approval by the board of directors in mid-2026, alongside additional investments for infrastructure and port terminal development

Softwood fluff prices had a historic price run globally in 2022, before registering a steady decline from mid-2022 through the third quarter of 2023. The effective list price of fluff in Europe and North America dropped from a peak of $2,230 per tonne in July 2022 to $1,710 per tonne in September 2023. Similarly, the […]

This consultation, which is open until May 23, 2024, seeks to ensure that our methodologies continue to reflect the physical market under indexation, in compliance with the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) principles for Price Reporting Agencies (PRAs). This includes all elements of our pricing process, our price specifications and publication frequency. You can […]

This consultation, which is open until May 26, 2024, seeks to ensure that our methodologies continue to reflect the physical market under indexation, in compliance with the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) principles for Price Reporting Agencies (PRAs). This includes all elements of our pricing process, our price specifications, and publication frequency. You can […]

This consultation, which is open until May 26, 2024, seeks to ensure that our methodologies continue to reflect the physical market under indexation, in compliance with the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) principles for Price Reporting Agencies (PRAs). This includes all elements of our pricing process, our price specifications, and publication frequency. You can […]

This consultation, which is open until May 23, 2024, seeks to ensure that our methodologies continue to reflect the physical market under indexation, in compliance with the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) Principles for Price Reporting Agencies (PRAs). This includes all elements of our pricing process, our price specifications and publication frequency. Fastmarkets FOEX […]

After a consultation period that began on February 19, 2024, and ended on March 21 2024, Fastmarkets has discontinued Region 4 log prices. The last assessment published March 2024.  To provide feedback on this or if you would like to provide price information by becoming a data submitter to Log Lines, please contact William Perritt […]

Read more about our recent IOSCO assurance review

Both NBSK pulp and BEK pulp prices jumped up in March, with more price hikes announced

This consultation, which is open until May 16, 2024, seeks to ensure that our methodologies continue to reflect the physical graphic paper market, in compliance with the International Organization of Securities Commissions’ (IOSCO) Principles for Price Reporting Agencies (PRAs). This includes all elements of our pricing process, our price specifications and publication frequency. Fastmarkets FOEX […]