European Woodfree Paper Market Forecast
A comprehensive forecast report for Europe’s uncoated and coated woodfree paper markets, including detailed forecasts by sub-grade and country. The data driven insights of this report are essential reading for publishing, printing and packaging professionals to help with procurement strategies, pricing and investment decisions.
Drawing on decades of industry expertise and the very latest market data, this report provides detailed insights into demand, supply, trade, prices, and capacity changes across the European Coated Woodfree (CWF) and Uncoated Woodfree (UWF) paper markets.
Report Summary
Data and analysis covered includes:
- Demand: Tracking current and forecast demand for CWF and UWF across European markets.
- Imports: Analysing volumes and trends in Woodfree Paper imported into Europe by grade and source region/country.
- Exports: Spotlight on European export activity, including destinations and changes in trade flows.
- Mill Shipments, Capacity and Operating Ratios: Giving insights into capacity projections, efficiencies and supply trends.
- Prices: Both current, forecast and effective margins.
- Leading Suppliers: Top Woodfree Paper suppliers and any noted changes at these suppliers.
- Delivery Times: Measuring lead times across the supply chain (Mill to Merchant).
The report includes the following paper grades:
- Coated Woodfree Sheets
- Coated Woodfree Reels
- Uncoated Woodfree Cutsize
- Uncoated Woodfree Folio Sheets
- Uncoated Woodfree Reels
Woodfree Paper Report Regions
The EMGE European Woodfree Report includes both Western Europe and Central/Other Europe region (excluding Russia), together with European-wide totals, structured under 3 main geographical groupings:
- Western Europe-16: Germany, France, UK, Italy, Finland, Norway, Sweden, Belgium, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Spain, Portugal, Austria, Switzerland, Denmark, Ireland.
Within this are the following:- Nordic = Finland, Norway, Sweden
- Benelux = Belgium, Luxemburg, Netherlands
- Iberia = Portugal, Spain
- Others = Austria, Denmark, Ireland, Switzerland
- Eastern Europe-14: Poland, Greece, Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania, Slovakia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovenia, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Malta, Iceland.
- Europe-30: all of the above
Woodfree Paper Market Overview
The European Woodfree Paper market went through a period of adjustment and a short-term, inventory-led demand rebound last year (2024), following an extraordinary downturn in 2023 – the sharpest annual decline on record, even exceeding the drops seen during the 2009 financial crisis and 2020 pandemic disruptions. This contraction led to capacity reductions and mill closures across coated (CWF) and uncoated (UWF) grades. With demand back in structural decline this year (2025), the necessary adjustment to supply is continuing right now.
2024 saw a short-term rebound, or a ‘dead cat bounce’ where buyers restock their inventories, rather than a full demand recovery. Prices stabilised but capacity cuts continued within the industry. This rebound continued throughout the first half of 2024, boosting apparent demand into double-digit percentage growth, compared with the terrible 2023.
Looking forward from 2025, the market is expected to continue to stabilise, but unlikely to return to pre-2023 levels. The uncoated woodfree paper market is showing modest growth, a reflection on the diverse end use the product has.
Subscription Service
Our annual subscription ensures you never miss an important update in this industry. It includes:
- Bi-annual EMGE European Woodfree Paper Market forecast reports (2 pa)
- Access to the EMGE subscriber information and support service
- Ad-hoc industry updates
On subscription you will receive the latest edition immediately. Any remaining editions included within the subscription will be emailed to you as soon as they are available.
EMGE World Graphic Papers Report, a companion to this report, evaluates the outlook for the global supply-demand balance for Newsprint and all Printing/Writing paper grades, including Coated Woodfree (CWF) and Uncoated Woodfree (UWF). Find this report here.
