Industry shipments of corrugated products increased 6.7 percent, from 29.20 billion sq ft in January 2016 to 31.16 billion sq ft in January 2017, according to the Fibre Box Association (FBA). There was one more shipping day in 2017, which contributed in part to the increase. Shipments were up 1.6 percent year-to-date.
Containerboard consumption also increased from 2.403 million tons in January 2016 to 2.573 million tons in 2017, or 7.1 percent. Consumption is also up 7.1 percent year-to-date.
Containerboard inventory at corrugator plants increased 9.4 percent, from 1.949 million tons in December 2016 to 2.134 million tons in January 2017. Weeks of supply jumped from 3.0 to 3.5, or 16.7 percent.
