Jefferies says Packaging matched International Paper containerboard price hike

Jefferies analyst Philip Ng notes that a few of the firm’s contacts have confirmed Packaging Corp. (PKG) has matched International Paper’s (IP) $50/ton price increase on linerboard and an $80/ton increase on medium, effective June 1, and expects the rest of the industry to match soon. However, the firm says it won’t be easy to implement this increase unless demand inflects in the coming months given a muted recovery in demand and elevated inventory levels.