One Blow After Another! Raw Paper & Auxiliary Materials Keep Fluctuating, The Printing and Packaging Industry Enters an Era of Meager Profits

1. Sharp Volatility in Raw Material Market, Overall Cost Rising Across All Categories Since 2026, the printing and packaging industry has been trapped by frequent raw material price fluctuations. Core paper materials such as corrugated paper, kraft liner, white cardboard and coated paper have experienced repeated price swings with highly unstable market conditions. Supporting chemical accessories including printing ink, adhesives, UV varnish and aluminum-coated film keep rising along with energy and crude oil prices. As an essential supporting industry, printing and packaging covers a wide range of products, including food packaging, cosmetic packaging, rigid gift boxes, electronic packaging boxes, paper shopping bags, corrugated cartons and self-adhesive labels. Raw materials account for a high proportion of production costs, and every round of price adjustment places a heavy burden on manufacturers. Leading paper enterprises have issued successive price increase notices. Regional raw paper hikes occur frequently with the typical feature of "rising fast but falling slowly". Combined with high logistics and energy costs, manufacturers are facing severe cost pressure.

2. Overlapping Cost Pressures, Corporate Profit Margins Shrink Sharply Rising costs of raw materials and auxiliary materials are continuously eroding the profitability of printing and packaging enterprises.

In particular, customized color boxes, high-end gift boxes and special paper packaging with complex production processes require more materials, making them more vulnerable to cost increases. Common corrugated cartons and general paper boxes are faced with fierce market competition and transparent pricing, falling into long-term low-price involution. Even with stable order volume, manufacturers can only maintain operation by high turnover, and the profit of single product has been compressed to the extreme. The phenomenon of revenue growth without profit has become common in the industry. Many small and medium-sized color printing plants and gift box manufacturers stated that they have become more cautious in taking orders. They dare not stock high-cost raw materials, nor accept low-profit orders, resulting in continuous operational pressure. Some micro enterprises are even facing serious profit losses.

3. Blocked Downstream Cost Transmission, The Industry in a Passive Dilemma Upstream raw material prices keep rising, while the recovery of downstream terminal consumption is slow.

Brand customers are highly sensitive to packaging purchasing costs, making it difficult for packaging manufacturers to adjust prices and transfer cost pressures. On the one hand, homogeneous mass packaging products lead to vicious price competition, and a slight price increase may cause customer loss. On the other hand, high-end customized gift boxes, beauty packaging and food-grade packaging require strict quality standards, sophisticated craftsmanship and environmental compliance. Additional expenses on environmental governance, waste gas treatment and standardized production further increase operational burdens. Squeezed by both upstream and downstream, the printing and packaging industry has fully stepped into a development stage featured by high costs, low gross profit and fierce competition.

4. Active Strategic Adjustment, Multiple Measures to Hedge Operational Risks Facing the long-term unstable raw material market, packaging enterprises have taken the initiative to adjust development strategies.

Leading enterprises rely on mature supply chain resources to stabilize costs through long-term price locking, centralized bulk procurement and scientific inventory management. At the same time, they actively develop eco-friendly packaging, lightweight packaging and degradable packaging products to increase added value and get rid of low-price competition. Small and medium-sized manufacturers focus on segmented market tracks, focusing on customized handbags, niche gift boxes and personalized label printing services to build differentiated advantages and improve product bargaining power. In addition, enterprises reduce comprehensive costs through process upgrading, energy conservation and consumption reduction, as well as optimized internal management. 5. Industry Shuffling Accelerates, High-Quality Development Becomes the Core Trend Industry insiders believe that raw material price fluctuations will become a long-term normal trend, and the integration and reshuffling of the printing and packaging industry will continue to speed up. The extensive development model relying on low prices and mass production is no longer viable. In the future, green environmental protection, customized design, high-end craftsmanship and refined services will become the core competitiveness of packaging enterprises. Only by strengthening supply chain resilience, optimizing cost control and upgrading product structure, can companies survive intense market competition and achieve long-term stable development.