Recycled Paperboard Capacity Declined in 2004

Recycled paperboard capacity (excluding containerboard and gypsum wallboard facings) declined 2.5 percent in 2004 to 5.9 million tons. What accounts for the decline? Competition from plastics, high recovered paper prices, and high energy costs, says the AF&PA’s economist, Stan Lancey. The reduction reflects the closing of several machines in 2003 and the shutdown of two machines in 2004. Capacity to produce recycled paperboard is slated to decline an additional 2.3 percent in 2005. This partly reflects the lagged impact of a machine closed in 2004, which will not have a full-year impact until this year, and the closure of two additional recycled paperboard machines during early 2005. Recycled paperboard capacity is projected to level off in 2006 and 2007