Paper Prices Continue Rising

Paper price increases will hit the industry in May, the second hike in 2018 with fears that another will be coming before the fall mailing season. Worse yet, paper mill capacity has shrunk so as paper buyers rush to lock in paper before the hikes they face wait times of 8-10 weeks.

The bottomline for mailers: lock in your paper now.

Quad Graphics reports transportation issues are complicating the issue. “All paper markets are still very tight with many mill machines on allocation and not taking new business beyond current commitments. Order lead times have increased out to as much as 16 weeks for some grades. There are a number of factors playing out at the same time in the paper and transportation industries creating a supply and demand imbalance and chronic shortages and late paper for most grades …” (click to read more)