Recycled Board Production Continues Improvement

The production of recycled paperboard is showing a modest 0.4 percent improvement over the first ten months of the year, according to the American Forest and Paper Association.

According to the AFPA, October’s production level of 1.327 million tons, pushed the 10-month total to 13.189 million tons, compared to last year’s 10-month total of 13.142 million tons.

While production is up over the first 10 months, it trails total paperboard production, which is up 2 percent between last year and this year.

Recycled corrugated medium and recycled linerboard continue to post sharply improved figures for this year. Recycled linerboard production stands at 3.882 million tons, a 2 percent improvement from figures the same time last year. Even more impressive is recycled corrugated medium, which jumped 2.2 percent this year.

While recycled linerboard and recycled medium both posted improvements between last year and this year, they both trailed overall production levels in their respective categories. Total linerboard production climbed by 3.2 percent, while corrugated medium production increased by 3.6 percent.

The only laggard grade is recycled boxboard, the most mature of the recycled paperboard grades. For the first ten months production stands at 2.642 million tons, a 0.4 percent decline from figures the same time last year. While the figure is down from the same time last year, the overall boxboard industry posted an even sharper decline between last year and this year. The total boxboard production level for this year, on an annual rate, stands at 14.417 million tons, a 1.4 percent drop from figures the same time last year.