My last Viewpoint at the end of February provided some thoughts on the outlook for Asian paper and board markets in 2025, and it highlighted three areas of concern that could hold back growth: the trade war, China's sluggish economy and inflation. Fast forward four months and a lot has happened, especially related to the trade war. In this Viewpoint, I provide my latest thoughts on developments in these three areas and then drill down specifically on the containerboard market and look at what has happened and where things are going.

The decarbonization of the steel industry has been widely discussed in Europe over the past few years. But much of the focus has been on blast furnace–basic oxygen furnace (BF-BOF) based mills, given their higher carbon intensity.

Leading European steelmaker ArcelorMittal has scrapped a planned EAF-DRI project in Germany due to the poor economic environment and a “lack of economic viability,” the company said on June 19.

Downward pressure on global steel prices, caused by continued high levels of Chinese steel production at prices below costs, creates incentives than can lead to a rebalancing of global supply and demand and a boost to profitability, World Steel Dynamics chief executive officer Philipp Englin said at the Global Steel Dynamics Forum in New York on Wednesday June 18.

Used Cooking Oil (UCO) has become a vital feedstock for biofuels, particularly Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF), but surging demand, globalized supply chains, and geopolitical risks highlight the need for strategic planning to address supply gaps and sustain production.

The top end of the assessment for MB-BI-0002 Bismuth 99.99% Bi min, in-whs China, yuan/tonne was incorrectly published due to a typographical error. It was initially published as 130,000-1,330,000 yuan per tonne. This has since been corrected to 130,000-133,000 yuan per tonne. Fastmarkets’ pricing database has been updated to reflect this change. This price is part of […]

The prices were published at 3:59 pm UK time instead of the scheduled time of 2-3 pm UK time. The following price was published late:MB-STE-0149 steel scrap heavy scrap domestic, delivered mill China, yuan/tonne  These prices are a part of the Fastmarkets scrap package. For more information or to provide feedback on the delayed publication of […]

The publication of Fastmarkets’ iron ore indices for Friday June 20 was delayed due to a technical issue. Fastmarkets’ pricing database has been updated. The following indices were affected:MB-IRO-0191 61% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao, $/tonneMB-IRO-0008 62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao, $/tonneMB-IRO-0144 62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao, $/tonneMB-IRO-0015 Iron ore 58% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao, […]

Explore the future of containerboard prices with our analysis from the Fastmarkets Paper Packaging Monitor on demand recovery.

The publication of Fastmarkets’ MB-ILM-0004 Ilmenite concentrate, 47-49% TiO2, cif China, $/tonne, MB-RUT-0001 Rutile 95% TiO2 min, large volumes for pigment, fob Australia, $/tonne and MB-RUT-0002 Rutile 95% TiO2 min, bagged, fob Australia, $/tonne price assessments for Thursday June 19 were delayed because of reporter error. Fastmarkets’ pricing database has been updated. The following prices […]