Box Shipments Continue Slide

The rapid erosion in market conditions for the corrugated industry is manifested in the continued slide in demand for the finished product. The most recent figures from the Fibre Box Association show total shipments declined by 6 percent for June. The drop pushed the year-to-date figure to 191.747 billion square feet, a 5.5 percent decline from figures the same time last year.

The problems in the industry were seen through each of the regions tracked. The East Central posted the biggest loss for the month and first six months, down 8.4 percent and down 7.2 percent, respectively.

Other regions and their figures for the month and YTD are the following: Northeast, down 6.3 percent and down 6.4 percent; Southeast, down 7.9 percent and down 6.8 percent; North Central, down 6.2 percent and down 4.1 percent; South Central, down 5.5 percent and down 4.4 percent; and the West, down 1.9 percent and down 4 percent.

Figures from the FBA also show that the consumption of containerboard at corrugator plants posted a sharp drop for June and over the first six months. For June, consumption stands at 2.416 million tons, an 8 percent drop, while consumption figures for the first six months stand at 14.441 million tons, a 6.8 percent drop from figures the same time last year.