AF&PA Reports 4% Decline in U.S. Containerboard Production

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): The American Forest & Paper Association (AF&PA) published its September 2019 U.S. Boxboard Report. According to the report, the total U.S. boxboard production registered a decline of 3% in the month of September this year. This is in comparison with the same month a year before. The boxboard operating rate has dropped by 2.2% year-on-year to 91.1% during the month.

The production of solid bleached boxboard and liner has declined sharply by 7% in Sep ’19. The production was down marginally by 1% during the initial nine months of the current year. Also, recycled boxboard production edged lower by 1%, compared with September last year. On the other hand, the unbleached kraft and gypsum production remained essentially flat over the previous year in Jan-Sep ’19.

The total U.S. containerboard production has declined by 4.0%, upon comparison with September last year. The year-to-date production too was down by 5.0%. The containerboard operating rates topped 93%. However, the monthly operating rate was down by 4.0% from the same month a year before. The year-to-date operating rate has dropped by 6.1% upon comparison with the previous year. The containerboard production for export witnessed sharp decline by nearly 20%.

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As per AF&PA estimates, the packaging papers and specialty papers shipments by the U.S. reported 10% decline in Sep ’19. Upon comparison with the same nine-months in 2018, the shipments were down by 6%.

The AF&PA report also reports 7% drop in printing-writing paper shipments in September this year, compared to September 2018.