BIR World Mirror on Recovered Paper – Issue July 2025: Caution is the watchword amid challenging conditions
A concise summary of the BIR World Mirror on Recovered Paper – Quarterly Report July 2025. Full version with detailed market reports available in the Members Only section of the BIR website.
It has been a generally challenging recent period for our industry, particularly with regard to an OCC market that has struggled under the combined strains of high operating costs, uncertain logistics and weak packaging demand.While stable yet cautious demand is being maintained in Asia, the market in the USA has been undergoing a period of structural downturn and weakening prices, marked by mill closures and signs that the bottom has yet to be reached.
Caution is also the watchword in Europe amid an environment of low growth and high availability. Purchased volumes went into decline from May onwards as mills prepared for scheduled summer shutdowns, and this was followed by a quiet June and July characterised by downward pressure on prices and by high stocks. The regional reports featured in this Mirror shed further light not only on recent developments but also on the factors influencing market movements. As always, I hope they prove both interesting and useful to you.
Looking back on 2024, the European recovered paper sector showed signs of recovery after previous declines. Recovered paper usage grew by 4.2% across Europe, while total collection volumes remained stable and exports fell. Spain and Italy stood out for their improvements in recycling and production, although high energy costs undermined profitability in Spain. Germany experienced revenue declines owing to similar cost pressures. Overall, OCC margins versus final products remained narrow in a stable market environment.
South East Asia’s mills are grappling with high costs and are duly shifting between local and imported fibre, raising prices domestically even as they curb production during weaker demand periods. Demand from countries such as Vietnam, Indonesia and Thailand has remained steady but cautious, with buyers negotiating harder as they anticipate further freight cost corrections. Regional converters have also reported operating at reduced capacities, citing high inventories and a slow recovery in packaging exports.
The North American market for recovered fibre has softened in recent months. Lower prices have been recorded in almost all regions, especially for OCC and mixed paper but also for higher grades such as sorted office paper. This weakening in May and June follows several months of either increasing or stable prices.As mentioned in the previous Mirror report, these losses have been counterbalanced to some extent by new or resurrected mills, built as greenfield paper mills or older or shuttered mills converted to 100% recycled containerboard paper mills. However, it is unlikely that this new capacity is making up for closures or downtime elsewhere.
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With contributions from its members, BIR publishes periodical commodity reports under the label "BIR World Mirror". These detailed reports exist for Non-Ferrous Metals, Ferrous, Stainless Steel / Alloys, Paper, Plastics and Latin America and provide BIR members with up-to-date information on the respective commodity or market segment.
The report on Non-Ferrous Metals appears once every two months, whereas Ferrous, Stainless Steel, Paper and Plastics are published quarterly. Latin America is covered twice per year.