Complete Story
08/16/2018
2019 Forecast: Tight Paper Market Will Continue
Source: D. Eadward Tree, PrintingImpressions, August 14, 2018
At the beginning of next year, magazine publishers will be paying about 25% more for paper than they did just 18 months earlier - assuming they can find any paper to buy.
There are no signs that the scarce supply and rising prices afflicting all U.S. buyers of publication papers will abate in 2019.
Magazine-quality paper is in such short supply that some publishers, unable to obtain their usual stock, are having to fall back on whatever they can get their hands on to print their issues.
“Keep an eye on your favorite magazines the next few months,” one industry source says. “You’re going to see issues containing an odd mix of papers.”
Some U.S. mills stopped taking orders for coated papers recently while they cleared their backlogs. Others are quoting lead times of about three months to existing customers and capping how much they can buy. If you need additional paper or don’t already have a regular supplier, good luck.
“If we place an order today, it may not arrive until early next year,” says one publishing manager who buys from a European mill. “We’re selling more ad pages than expected, so we’ll have to cut back on newsstand distribution to be sure we don’t run out of paper.”