November containerboard operating rates decline slightly

Containerboard operating rates decreased slightly in November compared with rates in October. According to the Washington-based American Forest & Paper Association’s (AF&PA’s) November 2020 Containerboard Monthly report, the containerboard operating rate was 93.3 percent in November compared with 98.1 percent in October. The association says the November operating rate is flat compared with November 2019.

Total containerboard production in November increased 2 percent compared with November 2019; production for the first 11 months of the year is up 4 percent compared with the same time frame in 2019, AF&PA reports.

Containerboard production for export decreased 6 percent in November compared with the same month in 2019, but it’s up 13 percent year to date, according to AF&PA.

Total boxboard production in November decreased 2 percent compared with November 2019, and it was down 3 percent in the first 11 months of the year compared with the same time frame in 2019, according to AF&PA’s November 2020 Boxboard Monthly report. The boxboard operating rate also declined to 91.3 percent in November, down from 93.6 percent in October and down from 92.7 percent in November 2019.

AF&PA reports that boxboard production in November decreased 4 percent compared with November 2019, and it was down 2 percent for the first 11 months of the year compared with the same time frame in 2019.

Beginning in 2021, AF&PA says it plans to release its containerboard and boxboard reports on a quarterly basis with the first report of the year publishing in April 2021. Complete reports and detailed tables, charts and historical data can be purchased by contacting Kory Bockman at statistics_publications@afandpa.org or 202-463-4716.