A look back at the 9th Rencontres du Cartonnage
Packitoo, as a supplier partner of CAP FEDE, was able to attend the 9th Rencontres du Cartonnage, in Paris, on Friday June 16, 2023, with and for you.
The program includes informal discussions between company managers, suppliers and presenters.
And a rich program of conferences:
- "Economic and financial situation of cardboard and stationery companies", by two speakers from the Banque de France
- "Paper and cardboard: Bilan 2022 et perspectives 2023-2024", by Yves Jégourel, Chair Professor, Raw Materials Economics and Sustainable Transitions at the Conservatoire National des Arts et Métiers.
- "Carton makers torn between regulations, decrees and laws", by Kareen Desbouis of COFEPAC.
Here's what we'd like to share with you in our report.
1 - Economic and financial situation of cardboard and stationery companies
The first intervention was carried out by the Banque de France, which conducted a dedicated study on the economic and financial situation of companies manufacturing stationery products (NAF code: 1723Z), folding carton packaging (NAF code: 1712B) and corrugated board packaging (NAF code: 1721A) from 2017 to 2021.
The sector is mainly made up of micro, small and medium-sized businesses, since - in the folding carton and corrugated board sectors alone - more than half of all companies have 30 employees or less.
The Banque de France notes that our industry is fortunate to have a number of experienced managers at the helm of mature companies, but for how much longer? Indeed, many transfers are expected in the coming years.
The speakers begin by discussing 2020, a year marked by a health crisis, an economic crisis and a general drop in business, which saw a rebound in activity over the following two years.
By 2021, net income has more than returned to its pre-crisis level in terms of profitability for companies in our sector.
In 2022, business remained buoyant across all segments, driven in particular by rising product prices. Companies' overall performance strengthened over the year.
2023 will be a more mixed year. Firstly, on the question of consumption, which is on the decline, mechanically leading to a drop in packaging consumption. The fall in volumes seen in the first half of 2023 will still be accompanied by a good level of margins, as the drop in raw material prices is not systematically passed on. However, the outlook for the second half of the year is less positive. Overall, 2023 should be a rather good year, albeit down on the previous two years.
2 - Paper and board : 2022 review and outlook 2023-2024
The second lecture was given by Yves Jégourel, Professor of "Raw Materials Economics and Sustainable Transitions" at the Conservatoire National des Arts et Métiers.
The professor begins by outlining the macroeconomic uncertainties of recent years, which are persistent and act as a brake on the packaging sector: high US inflation, European inflation dependent on energy prices, a disappointing recovery of the Chinese economy following the reopening of its post-COVID borders a few months ago, stagnating global growth... This current volatility is putting a strain on many companies.
Let's move on to raw materials costs. Lately, the industry has been suffering from the fall in gas, electricity and oil prices, due in particular to inflation, the rise in the cost of the dollar and the economic situation in the United States, leading in particular to an increase in the international price of cardboard, where the cost of pulp has reached record levels in France and Europe.
What are the prospects for the future?
- Already, Chinese demand is set to play a decisive role in global growth, as Asia is set to contribute over 70%. This does not necessarily give cause for optimism.
- As noted above, Europe's energy crisis is still ongoing, creating an imbalance between supply and demand.
So what advice do you have for the industry?
- A fixed price for the sale of your products vs. a variable price for your inputs is a risky business model, which can only be sustained if you can deliver excellent added value.
- In all cases, you need to think about your pricing practices to ensure that sales prices are properly linked to input prices, or in the other case, think about your supply contracts (especially energy) with fixed prices.
3 - Carton makers torn between regulations, decrees and laws
At the heart of a greener policy pursued by the French government and the EU, recyclability is no longer sufficient in itself, and the reduction and/or reuse of packaging today represents a whole new set of challenges for cardboard manufacturers, dependent on new regulations, decrees and laws.
The draft European regulation on packaging and packaging waste is a time bomb for the cardboard industry, with strong lobbying from those involved in reuse. Advanced discussions even proposed imposing 90% re-usable packaging in transport packaging, 100% intra-site and intra-national, 50% in grouping packaging, 75% in take-away catering and for beverages.
However, a number of questions remain concerning the "all-recycling" approach advocated by powerful lobbies within the EU:
- Hygiene and traceability issues... What about transporting dangerous goods?
- Reuse implies standardization (costs): loss of brand identity, counterfeiting, ownership of packaging?
- Unknown costs: storage areas, inventory management, transport, rental systems, etc.
- The champion material for reuse will undoubtedly be plastic, despite the fact that ...
- No consumer acceptability studies (small-scale/large-scale)
The Comité Français de l'Emballage Papier Carton (COFEPAC), via Kareen Desbouis, presenter at this conference, has made it known that it aims to protect your activities and interests at the highest European level. This is a direct threat to our industry, a champion of the circular economy: in 30 years, while global production of paperboard has almost doubled, consumption of virgin fiber has remained stable. Proof that recycling works.
Our industry needs to keep moving forward:
- Paper and cardboard packaging has a role to play in replacing plastic packaging
- Expertise and advice for packaging manufacturers.
- A dynamic industry to meet today's challenges.
We need to show that we can go further. You can contact COFEPAC on our behalf if you would like to find out more about their "paper and cardboard roadmap".
Faced with these challenges, we are at your disposal to advise and support you in your digital transformation to serve your teams and your customers.