Our U.S. paper suppliers have announced price increases on coated paper deliveries beginning November 1. Several market forces—increased demand, rising costs, reduced capacity, diminished supply and mill closures at both Appleton Coated and West Linn Paper Company—all factor into these new price increases.

We estimate these changes will yield a 4-5% price increase on most coated stocks. Since paper can be as much as 50-60% of the total cost of a typical print project, this can be a significant budget adjustment. Many of our clients print on coated paper stocks, and we understand the challenges they will encounter in the face of higher prices.

This new pricing also comes on the heels of an uncoated offset paper price hike earlier this year. The two increases may impact marketing budgets in all sectors. Fortunately, SPC’s purchasing power and solid strength in the marketplace guarantee us quarterly price protection. This ensures that we will not have to pass these coated paper price increases on to our customers on orders delivered by 12/31/17. Despite this temporary relief, our customers will be affected by these price increases after the turn of the year. We see the potential for additional price increases to occur in calendar year 2018 as well.

At SPC, we are always seeking to arm our clients with vital industry news and share insights to aid in your budget planning for crucial marketing communications and campaigns. Our experts are available to discuss ways your projects can benefit from cost-savings analysis or other adjustments to help mitigate this new pricing as we all move forward into a new budget year.

Garry E. Nielsen
Vice President of Production Planning & Procurement