AF&PA details U.S. Paper Production and Capacity Trends 

The American Forest & Paper Association (AF&PA) has released its 63rd Paper Industry Capacity and Fiber Consumption Survey. The report provides detailed data on U.S. paper industry capacity and production compiled by AF&PA’s statistics team.

U.S. paper and paperboard capacity declined slightly by 0.4% in 2022, to 81.0 million tons. That compares to an average decline of 0.9% per year since 2013.

The U.S. paper industry continues to respond to shifting demands by converting paper machines to produce packaging grades, supporting U.S. manufacturing jobs and sustaining local communities, as well as increasing the use of recovered fiber.

U.S. paper and paperboard production declined 3.3% last year, with boxboard increasing, containerboard and printing-writing declining, and tissue staying about the same.

Containerboard capacity declined 0.6% in 2022. Containerboard’s share of total paper and paperboard capacity continued to exceed 50%.

Meanwhile, boxboard capacity rose 2.4% percent in 2022. There have been 3 announcements of plans to add boxboard capacity in 2025 or later to meet demand for paper-based consumer packaging.

The complete Survey is available for purchase online or contact [email protected]

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