The shipment of corrugated products for December reached 28.472 billion square feet, a 7.2 percent drop from figures the same time the previous year. Figures for the month pushed the shipments for the full year to 379.585 billion square feet, a 5.4 percent drop from 2000 figures.
The decline in shipments held constant through each region for both the most recently reported month, as well as for the full year. According to the Fibre Box Association, the biggest loser during the month was the South Central, which saw shipments drop by 9 percent; and the Southeast, which reported an 8.9 percent drop for the month.
For the full year, the corrugated shipments from the Southeast was the biggest loser, with figures for the year down 7.8 percent from the same time in 2000.
Along with shipments, the consumption of containerboard also declined for both the month and year. Consumption for the month stands at 2.114 million tons, an 8.2 percent drop from December 2000. The drop for the month resulted in a 12-month consumption total of 28.786 million tons, a decline of 5.7 percent from 2000’s figures.
While shipments and consumption declined, the inventory at corrugator plants moved up 4.1 percent at the end of December from the prior month, as the weeks of supply on hand climbed to 4.4 weeks.