U.S. demand for the containerboard used for corrugated packaging appears to be rising after a long period of stagnation, adding to other indications that orders for nondurable goods are picking up, according to manufacturers, industry experts and recent data obtained by MNI - a provider of news and intelligence specifically for the Global Foreign Exchange and Fixed Income Markets.
Shipments of corrugated material from domestic manufacturers rose an annual 6.6% in September, their strongest growth of the year, while daily containerboard shipments for domestic use hit their highest point for any September since the economic recovery began, according to industry data from PPI Pulp & Paper Week, and from Scoring Boxes, a newsletter.
Inventories at corrugated mills dropped, forcing makers of virgin containerboard — as opposed to that which is recycled —- to work at 100% of capacity, while box-plant inventories posted their second-biggest monthly decline of the year so far, according to the newsletter.
