Corrugated Markets Continue Improvement

The shipment of corrugated products continues to strengthen as the U.S. economy rebounds.

Statistics from the Fibre Box Association show shipments climbing to 33.570 billion square feet, a 6.2 percent jump from figures the same time last year.

The improvement for the month pushed the six-month shipment figure to 194.501 billion square feet, a 3.7 percent improvement from figures the same time last year.

For June, all six regions of the country posted strong improvements, with the North Central U.S. leading the way with a 9.1 percent increase for the month. Other regions and their improvements are the following: Northeast, up 7.6 percent; South Central, up 7 percent; East Central, up 6.7 percent; West, up 4.6 percent; and the Southeast, up 3.7 percent.

For the first six months all six regions posted an improvement. The West showed the strongest improvement, up 4.3 percent. Other regions are the following: East Central, up 4.2 percent; North Central, up 4.1 percent; Northeast, up 3.8 percent; South Central, up 3.4 percent; and the Southeast, up 2.8 percent.

Along with the strong jump in shipments, the consumption of containerboard also posted a strong uptick for June and the first six months. For June, consumption stands at 2.599 million tons, a 7.2 percent increase from last year. For the Jan.-June time frame consumption stands at slightly more than 15 million tons, a 4.6 percent jump from figures the same time last year.

While consumption and shipments posted strong improvements, the inventory of containerboard at the end of June posted a more modest 0.3 percent improvement from the prior month. Meanwhile, the weeks of supply on hand at the end of June crept up 3 percent to 3.4 weeks of supply.