Recycled Board Drops in February

The production of recycled paperboard declined by 2.1 percent for the first two months, compared to figures the same time last year. The production figures for February stand at 1.192 million tons, compared to last February’s figure of 1.235 million tons.

While recycled board production dipped over the first two months, total paperboard production fell a much steeper 3.5 percent between last month and this month.

The decline in recycled paperboard was not seen in all three sectors. According to the American Forest and Paper Association, production of recycled linerboard posted a modest 0.1 percent improvement between last year and this year. The increase came will total linerboard production fell by 4.1 percent between the two years.

The biggest loser between last year and this year is recycled corrugated medium. For the first two months of the year production declined by 2.5 percent. While the decline is disconcerting, the decline is less than the total corrugated medium production figure, which dipped by 3.3 percent between last year and this year.

The last component of the recycled paperboard industry, recycled boxboard, posted a slim 1.4 percent decline from last year. The dip was far less than total boxboard production, which fell by 3.3 percent.

While total recycled paperboard production declined, the shipment of the commodity did show a sharp 22.2 percent increase through the first two months of this year compared to figures the same time last year.