Corrugated Shipments End Year on Up Note

The shipment of corrugated products ended the year essentially flat with shipment figures for the previous year. According to the most recent figures from the Fibre Box Association, December’s shipment total of 28.809 billion square feet, was a 1.2 percent improvement from the same time last year. The improvement resulted in the shipments for the full year standing at 379.449 billion square feet, the same as the prior year.

For December, there was sharp strength from the North Central U.S., which saw shipments climb by 4.3 percent for the month, as well as 2 percent for the full year.

Other big gainers for the month included the West, which posted a 3.6 percent shipment increase for the month and a 1.4 percent increase for the full year; and the Southeast, which saw shipments climb 1.3 percent for the month and by 0.8 percent for the full year.

On the other side, the Northeastern U.S. continued to be the one big loser for the month, with shipments for December dropping by 2.8 percent. Meanwhile, shipments from the Northeast for the full year declined by 2 percent.

For 2002, the only other region to post a decline was the South Central U.S., which saw shipments dip by 1.6 percent.

Along with an overall improvement in shipments, the consumption of containerboard at domestic mills jumped by 3.9 percent to 2.197 million tons. The increase for the month resulted in consumption for the year at slightly more than 29 million tons, essentially unchanged from figures the prior year.

While shipments and consumption climbed, the inventory of containerboard at corrugator plants climbed by a sharp 6.6 percent to 2.554 million tons at the end of December, compared to figures the previous month.