Leather Pipeline: Tanners’ reticence indicates lower leather demand
Now the majority of leather orders will be in for the upcoming season, hides sellers would normally be expecting tanners to be filling their raw material needs, but this has not been the case, according to our Leather Pipeline report.
The author says this is most likely an indication that leather demand is below that of last year.
Tanners in China’s Hebei province were showing an interest in cow hides, but some sellers have been reluctant to sell after being stung by unfulfilled contracts at the start of the year.
Automotive looks strong but, in general, leather consumption is not meeting raw material supply.
A bright spot comes in the form of skins, where conditions are aligning to spell an improvement, despite the market being flooded with low-quality skins after Muslim festival Eid al-Adha.
“Prices cannot fall any further and they are competitive with artificial products. We have perfect conditions for an improvement in this depressed market, but this is the only area where we are seeing light at the end of the tunnel,” the author says.
The full report is available to leatherbiz subscribers on the Market Info page. We also present views on the hides markets from German and US perspectives.
