The most recent figures from the American Forest and Paper Association shows domestic recycled paperboard production declining by 4.4 percent through the first five months of this year, compared to figures the same time last year. A continued problem has been the number of recycled board mills that have closed down over the past 12 months.
For this year, May’s production figure stands at 1.339 million tons, compared to last May’s figure of 1.390 million tons. For the first five months recycled board production stands at 6.382 million tons, compared to last year’s five-month total of 6.673 million tons.
The biggest decline for the month came from the recycled linerboard sector, which saw figures for this May at 344,000 tons a steep 12.4 percent drop from figures the same time last year. The slip came while overall linerboard posted a modest 0.5 percent improvement between last year and this year.
Recycled corrugated medium also posted a slip between last year and this year. For 2003, May’s figure stands at 337,000 tons, an 8.3 percent drop from last May’s figure.
While recycled medium posted a sharp drop, total medium production increased by about 2 percent between last year and this year.
The third component for the recycled paperboard sector is recycled boxboard. While total boxboard improved by 2 percent between last May and this May, recycled boxboard production declined by 0.4 percent, adding to the overall slump in recycled paperboard markets.
Reflecting the slump in recycled board production, the consumption of recovered fiber at domestic mills dropped by 3.2 percent over the first five months of the year. According to the AFPA, consumption this year stands at 13.981 million tons, compared to last year’s five-month total of 14.448 million tons.