Corrugated Markets Continue Upward Arc

After languishing through last year, the domestic fiber box industry has shown a noticeable pickup this year.

In its most recent monthly statistical report, the Fibre Box Association noted that total corrugated shipments jumped by 4.8 percent for August, compared to figures the same time last year. For the month shipments stand at 32.765 billion square feet, compared to last August’s shipment total of 31.269 billion square feet.

All six regions of the country posted improvements for the month, with the East Central U.S. showing the strongest jump, 6.8 percent.

The figures for the month pushed the eight-month shipment total to 261.295 billion square feet, a 3.8 percent increase from last year’s eight-month total. The biggest gainer between last year and this year also was the East Central U.S., which saw shipments climb by 4.8 percent. All of the six regions posted increases for the first eight months of the year.

While shipments increased, the overall containerboard consumption figure also improved. For August, consumption stands at 2.513 million tons, a 6.7 percent increase from figures the same time last year. For the first eight months of the year consumption stands at 20.201 million tons, a 4.9 percent improvement from figures the same time last year.

Along with an increase in shipments and consumption the inventory of containerboard at corrugator plants increased. At the end of August inventory stands at 2.199 million tons, a 0.5 percent increase from the previous month. The hike in inventory levels pushed the weeks of supply on hand to 3.8 weeks, compared to the prior month’s supply level of 3.5 weeks.