Paperboard Manufacturers Up Costs Due to Inflation
by Trey Granger
Published on September 2nd, 2009
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North America’s recycled paperboard manufacturers are increasing their prices in response to rising costs for raw material, despite the lowered demand for recycled paperboard in the current economy.
Paper mills, including Strathcona Paper, Graphic Packaging, RockTenn, Sonoco, PaperWorks Industries, Caraustar, Newark Group and Ox Paperboard will be raising prices $40 per ton for shipments beginning this month.
More than 85 percent of the U.S. population has access to paperboard recycling. Photo: Flickr/tankengine
Most of this recycled paperboard is sold as packaging to manufacturers, but the U.S. recycling market is still feeling the effects of last year’s economic downturn. The decrease in consumer spending means that less products need to be manufactured, which also affects the need for packaging.
Paperboard manufacturers still need to use raw material to produce recycled paperboard, even though many boxes are 100 percent recycled paperboard. This includes glue to bond the boxes together and paraffin wax to make boxes easier to print on.
What is Paperboard?
Paperboard covers many different products, such as cereal and gift boxes, and is often confused with corrugated cardboard. It’s also the second most commonly recycled paper product, behind newspapers.
Paperboard is also embraced as a means of packaging because it’s 100 percent recyclable and light-weight for shipping. The only issue with recyclability occurs if the paper is oil-stained or becomes wet.
