Recycled Board Production Increased in January

The production of recycled paperboard started of the year on a strong note, with the total up 4.3 percent for January from figures the same time last year. The total for the month stands at 1.4 million tons. During the same time total paperboard production increased by 4.3 percent to 3.054 million tons.

By individual commodity grades recycled linerboard production continues to be the fastest growing portion of the recycled board industry. For January production of the grade stands at 370,000 tons, an 11.8 percent jump from the previous year.

Marched against the strong increases in recycled linerboard was a more modest 2.9 percent increase in the overall linerboard industry.

Recycled corrugated medium also posted an increase for the month, according to the American Forest and Paper Association. For the month production stands at 363,000 tons, a 5.4 percent increase from figures the same time last year. While a decent increase, total corrugated medium production increased a much sharper 11.3 percent between the two years. This past January's figure stands at 884,000 tons.

Recycled boxboard production posted a decline for the month. January's production figure stands at 237,000 tons, a 3.3 percent drop from last January. In comparison, total boxboard production increased by 2.3 percent.