Recycled Board Production Continues Slump

The production of recycled paperboard at domestic mills continues to soften. Recent reports from the American Forest and Paper Association show production for June sanding at 1.254 million tons, down slightly from last June’s figure of 1.269 million tons.

Production of the commodity over the first six months stands at 7.704 million tons, a 4.8 percent drop from figures the same time last year.

While the decline was significant, recycled board fared better than the overall paperboard market, which declined by 7.3 percent over the first six months of the year.

Recycled corrugated medium production posted the steepest decline in the recycled board sector. Over the first six months production declined 11.8 percent with the annual rate, year to date, standing at 5.102 million tons. Total medium production declined by 7.9 percent over the first six months.

Recycled linerboard also posted a decline, with the Jan.-June production total down 6.7 percent from the same time last year. Compared to those figures, total linerboard production declined by 7.1 percent.

Recycled boxboard production also declined between the two years. For the first six months production stands at 2.643 million tons, a decline of 5.3 percent from figures the same time last year. Over the same period of time total boxboard production dropped 3.8 percent.