Skip to main content

AF&PA Releases Q3 2024 Containerboard Quarterly Report

WASHINGTON – The American Forest & Paper Association (AF&PA) released the Q3 2024 Containerboard Quarterly report on October 25.

According to the report, total Containerboard production in Q3 increased 3% compared to Q3 2023. It was up 6% when compared to the same nine months of 2023.

  • Operating rates for all major grades except Recycled Medium declined compared to Q2 2024, but total production was essentially the same between the two quarters. 
     
  • Production for export decreased nearly 15% from Q2 and was the lowest quarter so far in this year, but is still up more than 26% year-to-date due to the weak export numbers in the first half of 2023.
     
  • Recycled Medium had a very strong quarter with production exceeding 1.9 million tons and the operating rate above 90% for the first time since Q2 2022. Semichemical Medium production on the other hand dipped below 1 million tons for the quarter due to particularly weak September numbers.
     
  • New supply for Q3 increased 2.8% from Q2 and was the highest it has been since Q2 2022, with strong domestic production and imports indicating growing demand for containerboard stateside, compared to the slightly weaker exports.

The complete report with detailed tables, charts and historical data can be purchased by contacting Kory Bockman at Statistics_Publications@afandpa.org or 202-463-4716.

The American Forest & Paper Association (AF&PA) serves to advance public policies that foster economic growth, job creation and global competitiveness for a vital sector that makes the essential paper and packaging products Americans use every day. The U.S. forest products industry employs more than 925,000 people, largely in rural America, and is among the top 10 manufacturing sector employers in 44 states. Our industry accounts for approximately 4.7% of the total U.S. manufacturing GDP, manufacturing more than $435 billion in products annually. AF&PA member companies are significant producers and users of renewable biomass energy and are committed to making sustainable products for a sustainable future through the industry’s decades-long initiative — Better Practices, Better Planet 2030