Containerboard output falls 8%

The American Forest & Paper Association said U.S. containerboard production fell 8% in the first quarter of 2026 from a year earlier. (afandpa.org) Containerboard is the heavy paper used to make corrugated boxes, the brown shipping cartons used for e-commerce, groceries and factory goods. AF&PA said the first-quarter drop matched similar reductions in industry capacity. (afandpa.org) The industry’s operating rate was essentially flat, down 0.1 percentage point from the first quarter of 2025. That means mills cut output roughly in line with the amount of capacity available, rather than because plants suddenly ran much less efficiently. (afandpa.org) Inside the quarter, recycled linerboard production reached a record high in March. But lower unbleached kraft linerboard output pulled total liner production down 9% for the quarter. (paperadvance.com) Export shipments were weaker too. Census-reported containerboard exports fell 19% in the first quarter from a year earlier, which Resource Recycling said AF&PA tied in part to “evolving trade dynamics.” (resource-recycling.com) (afandpa.org) The new figures extend a softer trend from 2025. AF&PA said total containerboard production for all of 2025 fell 4% from 2024, while operating rates stayed flat and finished the year above 91%. (afandpa.org) Not every packaging measure is falling. AF&PA’s separate monthly report said packaging papers and specialty packaging shipments in March rose 7% from March 2025 and were up 3% for the first three months of 2026. (afandpa.org) That split suggests the weakness is concentrated in the box-making grades tracked by the containerboard report, not across every paper packaging category. For manufacturers, retailers and logistics operators, corrugated demand remains one of the cleaner readouts on physical goods movement. (afandpa.org 1) (afandpa.org 2) The next quarterly data will show whether the first-quarter drop was a short reset after capacity cuts or a longer slowdown in U.S. box demand. (afandpa.org)