<b>FBA Figures Down Sharply for March</b>

Recent figures by the Fibre Box Association show the shipment of corrugated products dropped by more than 10 percent for March to 32.397 billion square feet.

The decline for the month pushed the three-month shipment total to 94.801 billion square feet, a 6.9 percent drop from the same time last year.

All regions of the country posted sharp declines for both March as well as the first three months, with the East Central showing the sharpest drop, 13.3 percent for the month and down 9.7 percent the first three months.

The decline in shipments was matched by the even steeper 12.7 percent drop in containerboard consumption for March. According to the FBA, consumption for the month stands at 2.412 million tons, compared to 2.763 million tons the same time last year.

For the first three months consumption stands at 7.121 million tons, an 8.5 percent drop from last year’s first three months.

Finally, the inventory of containerboard at corrugator plants stands at 2.511 million tons at the end of March, a 5.2 percent decline from the previous month. The weeks of supply also decreased, from 4.8 weeks at the end of February to 4.6 weeks of supply on hand at the end of March.