The Shortage Affects All Types of Print Products
Posted: Wed Oct 19, 2022 11:17 am
A phenomenon that we have already seen affecting other consumable industries such as inks or printing paper, whose prices & delivery times have increased significantly. Speaking to PackagingInsights, Jules Lejeune, CEO of FINAT, explains how a series of inevitable disruptions such as COVID-19, energy shortages and the recent union strike in the Nordics have created the 'perfect storm' in the label industry . “ The global economy faces shortages of almost everything: energy, chemicals, pulp, (recyclable) paper, plastic, inks, transportation, foils, chips, components, and… This has led to a combination of shortages in availability, increases in delivery times and sharp increases in raw material prices across all parts of the supply chain ,” says Jules Lejeune and continues: “In addition to this general disruption to supply chains around the world, the label and packaging sector is now facing shortages of labels and packaging papers due to the prolonged strike at UPM in Finland since the beginning of this year.
Label printing companies are now running out of raw materials and if this strike continues beyond February 19, it will only be a matter of time before the entire FMCG market and other sectors face excessive lead times or even unavailability of image manipulation service labels to package their products and distribute them to consumers ” FINAT urges all parties involved to reach an agreement on the issues and resume label production as quickly as possible. Lejeune says that even if a deal was reached tomorrow, the damage to the industry and the general economy is already severe. For its part, Intergraf points out that the ongoing strike at UPM worsens the situation especially for paper grades such as LWC and MWC paper. It is estimated that in some countries almost 50% of this paper comes from one supplier.
![Image](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/6gYs8dGfbvLmTHS5iIRQlv4Jur5bT4vjgg8iLGwCYPngi4EX5TuXqNpS0akl46UI9PEajjOyEfteaCFGcQ7--XeaA2HyD7OiOCm8WpCzQ8e44PY6sqkp1wqH6r14rl0cUmFQ0yzjqLS1N6MEamHfiI1CwW6kAUpQSHaRnx9rC14qYFDTpZb7-gYzDc7tI6ySccuS-qHtyJLvAz0HHM3ZdruVVYeiGuFkE_iCmB1ZYnAtw-6i2KBxVfh-Eya9Io4OQ7-P_ZcVWzKube06uk9CunCBze3OTjXj5C8OokJhYEjEATNUBtC2vzkZDz6_KgIAH2yZDQg0Cnkx1qfAvrNCG60IBNJdBZK4umkF7LbfPHd10btcji-wZiFnPcrfyx4ZYOC1VbpFZYKVMvLIRrCfu9MGbihtj8qK3lWRm5ZUUBnqDk1AfEPnvkw986ZwqRbnoy_pOs7zETRXeGH59drCKqLKx0j0_Vu2XF4-mVU5TZVQ-nBpjU8kINIvblavjN_RMfbaFPPr3g5SGhSzSr-zaJXjvA3HJlNVbL_K5KIW4a6e8lGrykGBnxuTg_K-u7F5QOPHKBd8zQgs_Hc2fq6SGfvA1075KFypIfGREjrT68eH9Tx5IAsunw83pWS97UhStTdvSQUlXnXw9CYoLQXwLl6ZMxifKV_KkPnoQfQuAOBSMEu3SeIOt-SIEnTzWzzfmfYXudYXZRfXYLSYeUf8IteGt9iG2oNRzXjYkhxQzQoIdHGdZcgh4Hpt9VQk=w307-h273-no?authuser=0)
Printing press stocks will not last until the strike is settled, and printers will be forced to announce to their customers their inability to fulfill orders. This means that publishers will be forced to abandon print publications due to a lack of paper. but is particularly detrimental to time-sensitive publications such as newspapers, magazines and advertising publications. Regarding the cause of the strike at all five UPM plants, while UPM is seeking a separate agreement for each of its five business units, the Paperiliitto union (the union body for paper workers in Finland) is demanding a single agreement for the working conditions at all UPM's Finnish pulp and paper mills. The Finnish union, for its part, has announced that it will extend the strikes until February 19 if the parties do not reach an agreement.
Label printing companies are now running out of raw materials and if this strike continues beyond February 19, it will only be a matter of time before the entire FMCG market and other sectors face excessive lead times or even unavailability of image manipulation service labels to package their products and distribute them to consumers ” FINAT urges all parties involved to reach an agreement on the issues and resume label production as quickly as possible. Lejeune says that even if a deal was reached tomorrow, the damage to the industry and the general economy is already severe. For its part, Intergraf points out that the ongoing strike at UPM worsens the situation especially for paper grades such as LWC and MWC paper. It is estimated that in some countries almost 50% of this paper comes from one supplier.
Printing press stocks will not last until the strike is settled, and printers will be forced to announce to their customers their inability to fulfill orders. This means that publishers will be forced to abandon print publications due to a lack of paper. but is particularly detrimental to time-sensitive publications such as newspapers, magazines and advertising publications. Regarding the cause of the strike at all five UPM plants, while UPM is seeking a separate agreement for each of its five business units, the Paperiliitto union (the union body for paper workers in Finland) is demanding a single agreement for the working conditions at all UPM's Finnish pulp and paper mills. The Finnish union, for its part, has announced that it will extend the strikes until February 19 if the parties do not reach an agreement.