The Swiss Packaging Institute SVI and the Kunststoff.swiss association have jointly approached the Federal Council and requested that the packaging and plastics industries be exempted from possible electricity rationing and grid shutdown measures. Such measures would have dramatic consequences for both systemically important industries. The SVI is also in constant contact with the Federal Office for National Economic Supply (FONES) regarding the current situation with packaging materials.

In a personal letter, the two associations explained to the Federal Council that electricity quotas and grid shutdowns would have serious consequences for our country’s supply of essential goods such as food and medicines. Packaging is essential to protect food, medicines, chemicals and other basic necessities and to make them suitable for transportation and storage. Packaging is a basic prerequisite for distribution throughout Switzerland. Restricting the packaging and plastics industry would jeopardize supply in many system-relevant areas and also result in high economic costs. In addition, the Federal Council was made aware that grid shutdowns of even just a few hours would lead to significantly longer production outages, as the complex systems would have to be shut down and then restarted in a controlled manner. In addition, industry has already implemented extensive energy-saving measures in most cantons as a result of the large-scale consumer article (GVA). Both associations are aware of the exorbitantly high energy prices and will do everything in their power to lobby the authorities and power plant operators to improve the situation.

SVI President Philippe Dubois is a regular participant in the weekly conference calls of the Federal Office for National Economic Supply (FONES). During the coronavirus crisis, Philippe Dubois was already able to push through the systemic relevance of the packaging industry at the FONES, meaning that our industry has been given increased protection status. With regard to possible electricity quotas and grid shutdowns in the coming winter, the FONES has not yet decided on exceptions for systemically important sectors and has not yet defined any such exceptions. The Packaging department at BWL is constantly discussing materials and energy requirements. Draft decisions are to be drawn up by a committee and forwarded to the Federal Council as soon as possible. It is expected that the Federal Council will then issue a corresponding ordinance (as in the coronavirus crisis). However, no drafts are currently available (as at the end of September). The time frame for a Federal Council ordinance is also unknown. However, this is expected before Christmas. The SVI is trying to exert influence so that the packaging industry continues to be classified as systemically relevant.

From the SVI’s point of view, the current situation is as follows: The Swiss gas storage facilities, which incidentally are located on French territory, are sufficiently full. In addition, Switzerland also obtains gas from the Middle East via Italy and is not solely dependent on unpredictable German gas pipelines from Russia. The Swiss reservoirs for power generation are now slowly filling up after the summer drought, but will probably not reach the levels of the previous year.

With regard to the various packaging materials, the SVI considers the situation (as at the end of September) to be satisfactory overall. The availability of plastics has continued to ease significantly in recent months. There is currently practically an oversupply of stock and prices have fallen across the board, with the exception of some specialty plastics. It is difficult to estimate how much further prices will fall. The price ranges are high: from very cheap imported goods and merchandise to relatively expensive Western European goods. Some polymer producers have already cut back production, which could probably lead to rising prices again from October. There are still availability problems with certain multilayer films. Increased imports from Asia following the opening of Chinese ports are also putting pressure on the market. This is also putting pressure on recycled goods, but there is still too little raw material available. In general, logistics is still in a very tense situation, and the summer vacation period has made the situation even worse. There is a lack of loading capacity, especially in Italy and France. Container availability from Asia is improving, but many ports in Europe still have a large backlog.

The situation in the cardboard segment has not really changed in recent months. In the virgin fiber segment, desired quantities are available within 4 to 8 weeks. Prices remain at a high level with a tendency to rise, as energy prices are increasing and certain types of wood (hardwood) are difficult to procure. In the recycling sector, delivery times are relatively short at 4 weeks, but prices are still rising (due to raw material procurement and energy costs). The same applies to corrugated cardboard. The end of the line has probably not yet been reached in terms of price levels. Demand is rather restrained at the moment, and some warehouses are still well stocked from corona times.

The current glass supply situation in Switzerland is tense. Some items are difficult to deliver, even though there is still no shortage of glass packaging. As energy accounts for around a quarter of glass production costs, sharp increases in energy prices have a direct impact on the sales price. The situation is becoming increasingly fragile, with a significant impact on the availability of glass packaging in the event of a gas shortage. There could therefore very quickly be a shortage of glass packaging.

The availability of new wooden pallets is difficult and their prices are rising. In addition, the return rates for used pallets are very low, as many companies have made safety purchases and increased their stocks of pallets. We expect this trend to continue in the short term, as the majority of wood for pallets has so far come from Russia, Ukraine and Western European countries. Sawn timber for crates and packaging is sufficiently available, as this wood comes from Switzerland.

Schweizerisches Verpackungsinstitut