<B>Recycled Board Production Increases</B>

Recycled paperboard production increased 3.5 percent to 4.078 million tons for the first three months of the year. According to the American Forest and Paper Association, recycled board production for March stands at 1.376 million tons. The increase in recycled board outpaced total paperboard production, which increased by 2.8 percent over the first three months of the year.

Broken out by individual commodity grades, recycled linerboard production increased by 8.2 percent the first three months of the year. The annual rate, year to date, stands at 4.3 million tons. The production of recycled linerboard outpaced total linerboard production, which moved up a much slighter 2.4 percent for the first three months. Unbleached kraft linerboard, the largest component in the grade, moved up a slight 0.9 percent between the two years, while solid bleached kraft jumped close to 20 percent between the two years.

Recycled corrugated medium production declined 3.2 percent between this year and last year, acccording to the AFPA. While recycled medium dipped, total corrugated medium production moved up a sharp 6.1 percent between the two years, with semichemical medium production up a strong 13.2 percent between the two years.

Recycled boxboard production dipped slightly between the two years.