<B>Recycled Board Production Slowing</B>

Domestic paperboard production dipped 2 percent over the first eight months of the year to 10.536 million tons, according to the American Forest and Paper Association. August’s production stands at 1.264 million tons, compared to last August’s figure of 1.272 million tons.

Broken out by individual commodity sectors, recycled corrugated medium production dropped by 6.3 percent to 283,000 metric tons.

Meanwhile, total corrugated medium production dipped by 2 percent, with the annual rate, year to date, standing at 9.611 million tons. The other component for the medium industry, semichemical, increased by 0.9 percent to 5.844 million tons on an annual rate, year to date.

Recycled linerboard production, also dipped for the month, according to the AFPA. For August, production stands at 306,000 tons, bringing the annual rate, year to date, to 3.872 million tons. For the first eight months the figure is down 4.7 percent from 1999’s eight-month total.

Meanwhile, total linerboard production dipped by 3.1 percent between last year and this year, with the total for August, 1.664 million tons, pushing the eight-month total down 3.1 percent from the same time last year.

The third component for the recycled paperboard industry, boxboard, posted a modest 0.3 percent increase between the two years. For August, production of the grade stands at 243,000 tons, bringing the eight-month total to an increase of 0.3 percent from figures the same time last year.

Although recycled boxboard increased, the rate was much lower than total boxboard production, which climbed by 2.6 percent between the two years.