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The Washington-based American Forest & Paper Association (AF&PA) has released its 65th Paper Industry Annual Capacity and Fiber Consumption Survey, and the results indicate a boost in United States production in 2024 as the industry continues to invest in new paper machines and conversions, while overall U.S. paper and paperboard capacity, however, declined last year.
AF&PA has calculated an 87.5 percent paper and paperboard operating rate for 2024, a nearly 4 percent increase from 2023, as well as a 3.2 percent production increase in all categories, led by “strong growth” in containerboard.
However, U.S. paper and paperboard capacity declined 2 percent in 2024 to 78.1 million tons. The average annual rate of decline is 0.9 percent since 2015, according to AF&PA.
The paper industry continues to invest in new machines and machine conversions, particularly in the packaging and tissue sectors, AF&PA says, but despite four containerboard machines coming online in 2023 and two boxboard machines and one tissue machine expected to start up this year, more capacity has been removed across all sectors because of investments in mill network optimization and business streamlining.
AF&PA defines capacity as the tonnage of paper, paperboard or pulp that could be produced with full use of equipment and adequate supplies of raw materials and labor, assuming full demand.
U.S. containerboard capacity declined 0.9 percent in 2024, according to AF&PA’s survey results. Despite three straight declines since 2022, containerboard capacity continues to account for more than 50 percent of total U.S. capacity to produce paper and paperboard, the group says.
Packaging paper capacity increased 4.6 percent on the heels of what AF&PA says was a strong growth rate in 2023 at 4.8 percent. For the second year, all growth came in unbleached packaging papers, while bleached packaging papers has declined for six consecutive years.
Meanwhile, boxboard capacity declined 3.3 percent percent in 2024. One bleached boxboard machine came online in May following conversion from printing and writing papers and a recycled boxboard machine is scheduled to come online in the fourth quarter of this year as part of a new mill.
Printing and writing paper capacity decreased 6.9 percent in 2024, the steepest decline since what AF&PA calls the “pandemic-induced drop” of 14.9 percent in 2021.
After printing and writing paper capacity fell below 10 million tons for the first time in 2023, the current level now is below 9 million tons, with printing-writing capacity accounting for 12 percent of total U.S. paper and paperboard capacity last year—the same as in 2023.
Tissue paper capacity also declined, shrinking 1.7 percent in 2024, according to AF&PA’s survey results. The group says, however, that despite three consecutive year-over-year declines, the tissue share of total U.S. paper and paperboard capacity has grown steadily compared with other grades over time, from 7.2 percent to 11.3 percent since 2000.
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