Containerboard Outlook Promising

According to Deutsche Bank Senior Analyst Mark Wilde, last Friday's 61.2 reading on the ISM's manufacturing index should boost confidence among containerboard producers. "Although we've argued that the ‘best case scenario' is a mid-summer price initiative, that wait will prove expensive as costs continue to rise and margins are squeezed. For the moment, linerboard prices appear mostly stable with reports of some ‘spot deals' by tier-II producers. Box markets remain highly competitive. Export pricing is mixed," Wilde reports.

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