Packaging Unpacked: Second wave of URB price hikes driven by both cost-push and demand-pull dynamics

Research evidence excerpt

Packaging Unpacked: Second wave of URB price hikes driven by both cost-push and demand-pull dynamics

Deutsche Bank

Research

North America Equity Industry Date

Packaging Packaging Unpacked 18 June 2026

Second wave of URB price hikes driven by

Hillary Cacanando, CFA both cost-push and demand-pull dynamics

Research Analyst

+1-212-250-3393

North American URB producers announce second wave of price hikes, signaling

stronger demand and potential for margin recovery

This month, major North American producers of Uncoated Recycled Board (URB)

- including Sonoco, Greif, Cascades, and Ox Industries - announced a second

round of price increases for 2026. This follows an initial wave of hikes announced

in March. Encouragingly, while the new increases are intended to offset

persistent cost inflation, producers are also explicitly citing strengthening

demand as a key driver – a factor not highlighted in the first-quarter

announcements. This signals a positive shift in the underlying supply-demand

balance and a favorable outlook for the latter half of the year, in our view.

Second round of URB hikes underway for July

In a clear sign of improving market dynamics, several key players in the North

American URB market have announced a fresh wave of price increases set to take

effect in July. This marks the second major price hike for the year, following the

initial round implemented in March. The key announcements are as follows:

• Sonoco: The first of the major producers to announce this round, Sonoco

will implement a $60 per ton increase on all URB grades in the U.S. and

Canada, effective with shipments from July 8, 2026. Concurrently, prices

for converted paperboard products (such as tubes, cores, and protective

packaging), will rise by 7%. This follows a previous URB price increase