Recycled Paperboard Production Up Sharply for 1999

Recycled paperboard production for last year reached 16.474 million tons, a sharp 8.6 percent increase from 1998's figures. Meanwhile, total paperboard production increased by a much slimmer 2.2 percent between 1998 and last year.

Broken out by the individual commodity grades, recycled corrugated medium ended up with the sharpest gain between the two years. The AFPA reports total production reached 4.11 million tons, an 11 percent improvement from 1998.

The increase came while total corrugated medium production moved up 4.6 percent. Even more impressive, the other component used to make corrugated medium, semichemical, increased by a much slighter 0.4 percent between the two years.

Recycled linerboard also ended the year with a sharp improvement from 1998. Total production of the grade for last year reached 4.265 million tons, a 10.5 percent increase from 1998's figures. Total linerboard production moved up a much slighter 4.3 percent between the two years, with unbleached kraft linerboard, the largest component of the linerboard sector, increasing a slight 2.9 percent between the two years.

Recycled boxboard production is the weakest, albeit most mature, of recycled paperboard grades. For last year recycled boxboard production increased by a slim 1.6 percent. The total for the year stands at slightly more than 2.9 million tons.

The increase comes while total boxboard production increased a sharper 4.5 percent between the two years. Total boxboard production for last year stands at 15.6 million tons, according to the American Forest and Paper Association.