Europe’s paper and board industry rebounds in 2024

While higher energy costs in Europe have not completely disappeared, the Confederation of European Paper Industries (CEPI) says an improved energy landscape was a contributor to a rebound in paper and board production in the CEPI region in 2024.

In a mid-February presentation, CEPI Trade & Industrial Policy Director Bernard Lombard said paper and board consumption in the CEPI region jumped by 7.5 percent in 2024 compared with what he characterized as a “difficult” 2023.

Lombard referred to 2024 as “a year of resilience” for the sector, calling the 7.5 percent increase “a real recovery.”

CEPI’s membership encompasses 856 pulp, paper and board mills in a region that includes most of the European Union, plus Norway and the United Kingdom. While consumers of those mill companies’ products used 7.5 percent more paper and board, the CEPI region’s production boost did not quite match that figure.

According to Lombard, paper and board production in the CEPI region enjoyed a more modest rebound of 5.2 percent.

The organization’s gathered statistics indicate the production of packaging grades in Europe grew by 6.5 percent in 2024 compared with the prior year, while the output of “newsprint remained on a downward trend.”

Within the packaging sector, containerboard output was up by 4.3 percent, according to Lombard, while the production of retail sector-focused carton board grew by 9.9 percent in 2024.

The increased packaging board output provided can be considered good news for generators and sellers of recovered paper in Europe.

Lombard said the consumption of recovered paper in the CEPI region grew by 4.1 percent in 2024 “after two straight years of decline.” About two-thirds of that recycled-content feedstock in Europe was consumed by containerboard mills, added Lombard.

The rebound of domestic mills tempered what had been a growth spurt in recovered paper exports from Europe, according to the organization.

However, even with increased European scrap paper consumption, CEPI says the region was able to export 0.7 percent more recovered paper in 2024 compared with 2023.

The domestically sourced recovered paper is part of what CEPI characterizes as a “made in Europe” landscape for the region’s paper and board production.

The organization says 94 percent of the wood its mills pulp is from trees grown in Europe while 96 percent of its recovered paper feedstock is sourced within the EU. Additionally, 55 of the market pulp consumed in the EU is of EU origin.

Despite that level of sufficiency, trade also was a topic at the mid-February CEPI presentation, including the fondness of tariffs by United States President Donald J. Trump and the potential that the EU Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) regimen could be applied to the paper and board sector.

Regarding trade with the U.S., CEPI says in 2023 it received some 220,000 metric tons of recovered paper from the U.S. and about 900,000 metric tons of market pulp. In the other direction, the EU shipped about 600,000 metric tons of cartonboard and more than 300,000 metric tons of market pulp to the U.S.

Lombard and CEPI Director General Jori Ringman said uncertainty surrounds President Trump’s recent declaration to impose “reciprocal tariffs” on all trading partners. The duo also commented that trade barriers existing between European nations remain an issue to be addressed within its operating region.

Regarding CBAM, the CEPI staff members said metals producers are pointing to “loopholes and fraud” in the CBAM system. Lombard called CBAM “a tool that is not perfect; far from it,” and said CEPI would not prefer to see its use expanded to pulp and paper “if all this can’t be solved.” He added, “There is still a lot to be done, and we hope the European Commission can listen to us a bit more.”

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Another Brussels agenda item on CEPI’s radar consists forestry regulations and climate targets.

Ringman credited CEPI member companies with being engaged in managed forestry and said the need for forest products will always be inherent.

In paper and board production, “Recycling has increased dramatically over the years, and will continue to increase,” said Ringman.

He added, though, “You can’t have everything based on recycling only. You can’t collect from yesterday’s consumption enough for tomorrow’s needs. It’s possible for one company to be based on recycling, but it’s not possible for the whole economy.”