Greif Hikes Paperboard $60/Ton, Tube Prices 6.5%

Greif (GEF, GEF.B) is raising prices across its paperboard and tube-and-core lines, the company said Wednesday. Uncoated recycled paperboard (URB) will go up $60 per short ton on new orders and shipments starting July 6. Tube, core, and protective packaging products will rise a minimum 6.5% for shipments on and after July 13.

The increases follow a stretch of higher input and transportation costs, Greif said. Demand for URB products has strengthened across the board. The tube-and-core hike reflects the same raw-material and freight pressures, plus rising adhesive costs and stronger demand across the end markets Greif serves.

Greif operates in more than 35 countries and traces its history to 1877. The company makes industrial packaging in fiber, metal, and polymer, plus closure systems. The price moves are the latest signal that packaging producers see enough demand traction to push through cost pass-throughs in the second half of the year.

For traders watching the industrial and packaging sector, the question is whether the hikes stick. Greif's URB and tube-and-core customers include converters and manufacturers that have been absorbing their own cost increases. If those buyers push back on the July effective dates, the price action would weaken before it starts. If orders hold or accelerate through the summer, the increases confirm that demand is real enough to support margin recovery.

The next check is the July 6 URB effective date. Tube-and-core pricing follows a week later. Both will show up in Greif's fiscal fourth-quarter results, due in December.