Why are your paper prices increasing?

We explain how and why paper has got more expensive recently.

Why are your paper prices increasing? Good question!

You’re probably bored of hearing about price hikes and shortages, as that is all you ever seem to hear about on the news these days. However, this is an unfortunate reality that may start to affect the way your office or workplace runs on a day to day basis.

One of the major shortages and price increases in the stationery industry at the moment is printer paper. Obviously printer paper is the one thing businesses like to keep an eye on cost wise as it is one of the most regularly ordered items so tends to be the deciding factor when choosing a supplier.

In the current climate, we are looking at a worldwide shortage of paper which in turn (along with many other factors that we will discuss below) has increased the price.

The shortage and price increase of paper is due to a number of contributing factors including-

• A shortage and price increase of pulp at the paper mills. Pulp prices have increased by up to 62%
• Paper mills and stationery wholesalers choosing to stop importing paper products from Russia
• Worldwide price increases on gas and oil which is used in the manufacturing processes 
• Freight prices have increased by 5 x the pre-Covid costs
• Strikes at the Finnish paper mills

Since the start of Covid in March 2020, more and more people have been choosing to shop online which has put an unprecedented demand on packing requirements and cardboard. This, along with a lower demand on printer paper due to such a huge number of us working from home, meant that a lot of the supplies used for printer paper, was diverted into the manufacturing of packing supplies.

There is also a much higher demand on paper products at the moment due to people wanting to lower their carbon footprint and looking for paper alternatives rather than single use plastics. 

It is more important than ever to ensure you are only printing essential documents and emails, as well as making sure to use scrap paper for jotting down notes. Not only is this more economical but also is generally good practice to get into in order to not create excessive amounts of waste.

It is important to keep an eye on how much paper you have and order with ample time incase of extended lead times on delivery. 

OfficeStationery.co.uk are doing everything that we can to keep our prices as low as we can and we are also sourcing paper from as many different places as possible to limit the disruption to our customers. If you have any questions or concens, do give us a call and we will be more than happy to help.