
Market outlook February 2024
The raw material market has mostly stabilized towards the end of the year and the prices of various raw materials have fallen due to improved availability and lower costs. However, in several countries labour costs have risen due to inflation and the availability of labour.
Problems with raw materials from the Far East are caused by the situation in the Red Sea and the Suetz Canal. Houthi rebel attacks by ships have caused shipping companies to tour through Africa to Europe. This has caused delays in raw material flow and increased costs. Prices of sea freight have risen strongly since the turn of the year. The Chinese New Year in mid-February will also cause an increase in transportation demand and there have been challenges in the availability of ship capacity and sea containers.
Transport costs have also increased in Europe with new surcharges. The German road tax (Maut) rose to 1.12.2023 and it also affects transit traffic in Germany. Many Eastern European countries have also raised road tolls at the turn of the year. The ETS fee for transport, which is the European Union’s emissions trading scheme, also came into force at the beginning of the year. It aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in industry and energy production and to prevent global warming.