Box demand not bad for many players, inventories jump, mill rates hit 99%

摘要

North American box demand has been fairly healthy for many integrated and independent converters, while containerboard is still in fairly tight supply, according to contacts. "Many mills are still behind on shipments and the market will soon be going into the seasonally strong late-August-to-October period," one contact noted. "Mills are oversold, but not as much as last spring." But industry statistics for June painted a less rosy picture, leaving some contacts searching for a reasons for the "disconnect." US containerboard inventories jumped by 83,000 tons in June from the prior month as mill operating rates hit 99%, while box shipments remained sluggish, the Fibre Box Assn (FBA) and American Forest & Paper Assn (AF&PA) reported.