Against a background where grocery prices have risen by 26% and consumers are spending the highest share of their income on food for 30 years, AFRY Management Consulting’s Sanna Sosa, Senior Prinacipal, and Soile Kilpi, Director, discuss the forces shaping the tissue sector in 2024 and beyond, from decarbonisation to industry re-structuring and raw material challenges. Across North America, tissue products demand growth has stabilised from the pandemic panic buying years and is settling back on its pre-pandemic tracks. After the Covid-driven surge in demand in 2020 and 2021, At-Home tissue demand has settled in 2022 and 2023 close to 7.1m short ton, which is 4.5% above pre-covid demand level. Increased working from home (WFH) and attention to cleanliness and hygiene are bolstering the At-Home tissue demand to above pre-pandemic levels. Consumers are monitoring their grocery bills in an environment where food prices have shot up by 26%, according to [...]

A number of hurdles are still hindering the development of a Western battery supply chain, despite support from the US Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), according to Kevin Chan, US-based spodumene and lithium producer Albemarle’s vice president of the Asia Pacific region The post Battery supply-chain development in Western countries faces short-term headwinds: Albemarle appeared first on Fastmarkets. [...]