The most recent figures from the American Forest and Paper Association show that while the paperboard industry is showing some improvements, the recycled paperboard segment continues to be a major drag on the marketplace.
Figures from July, the most recently reported month, show recycled paperboard production at 1.248 million tons, a sharp decline from last July’s figure of 1.368 million tons.
The decline for the month continues the overall decline in recycled paperboard production seen through this year. Recycled paperboard production over the first seven months of this year stands at 8.962 million tons, a 4.9 percent drop from figures the same time last year.
While recycled paperboards production continues its steep decline, total paperboard production posted a more modest 0.1 percent dip between last year and this year. The decline was caused primarily by the deep decline in production for recycled board. Other key paperboard sectors showed improvements, with unbleached kraft up 2.7 percent; semichemical paperboard up 3.8 percent; and bleached paperboard, up 2 percent.
The decline in recycled paperboard production was seen by all three sectors, with recycled corrugated medium posting a 13 percent drop between last year and this year; recycled linerboard, down 6.9 percent; and recycled boxboard, falling by 1.7 percent between last year and this year.
Matched up with the steep decline, total corrugated medium posted a 1.1 percent drop between last year and this year. However, the other component of corrugated medium, semichemical medium, posted a strong 8.2 percent increase between last year and this year. For linerboard, total production climbed by 0.3 percent, with unbleached kraft increasing 2.7 percent.
Recycled boxboard also showed signs of sluggishness in comparison to overall boxboard markets. For the first seven months boxboard production increased by 1.5 percent. The key drives for the improvement were solid bleached boxboard, which improved 3.2 percent; and unbleached kraft boxboard, which moved up 0.2 percent.