We published the most recent edition of our Leatherbiz Market Intelligence newsletter on March 8. Of course, the war in Ukraine is the dominant story.

The suffering of the people caught up in the war and of refugees fleeing it are clearly the most important factors, but the report’s other conclusion is that the situation in the weeks and months ahead will not be easy for the leather industry or for most other business sectors. It goes into some detail about how the automotive leather sector appears to be the one that will see the effects first.

This new strife comes at a time when shoots of optimism in the leather industry were beginning to take root. This much was in evidence at Lineapelle in February, where the “quality and intensity of the conversations” were surprising, the report says.