<B>Recycled Board Production Up for Year</B>

Domestic recycled paperboard production increased 3.3 percent over the first four months of the year, compared to figures the same time last year. According to the American Forest and Paper Association, recycled board production stands at 5.260 million tons. The increase in recycled board production outpaced total paperboard production, which increased by 1.8 percent over the same period of time.

Broken out by individual commodity grades, recycled linerboard production increased by a sharp 6.8 percent between last year and this year. The increase far outpaced total linerboard production, which moved up 1.3 percent between the two years.

Recycled corrugated medium, on the other hand, dipped by 2.4 percent between the two years. The decline came despite total corrugated medium production increasing 2.9 percent between last year and this year. The other component of the corrugated medium industry is semichemical, which moved up 6.8 percent.

The final component of the recycled paperboard industry is recycled boxboard. This segment showed a modest 0.7 percent between last year and this year.