The AF&PA releases its 64th Paper Industry Annual Capacity and Fiber Consumption Survey, providing comprehensive insights into U.S. paper industry trends. Despite challenges, the industry demonstrates resilience, with notable shifts observed in containerboard, packaging paper, and printing-writing capacities.
The American Forest & Paper Association (AF&PA) has announced the release of the 64th Paper Industry Annual Capacity and Fiber Consumption Survey, offering comprehensive insights into the U.S. paper industry landscape. Compiled by the AF&PA statistics team, this report delves into detailed data regarding paper industry capacity and production trends.
In 2023, U.S. paper and paperboard capacity experienced a modest decline of 1.6%, reaching 79.7 million tons. This downturn contrasts with the average annual decline of 0.9% observed since 2014. Notably, U.S. paper and paperboard production witnessed a significant decrease of 7.2% during the same period, with declines observed across all categories except tissue.
Despite this decline, the industry saw the commencement of four new machines, collectively adding 2.1 million tons of containerboard and packaging paper capacity. Remarkably, these machines exclusively utilized 100 percent recycled fiber. However, the industry also faced challenges as over 1.7 million tons of capacity, predominantly reliant on wood fiber, was permanently removed due to demand weakness stemming from customer destocking and economic headwinds.
Containerboard capacity saw a marginal decline of 0.7% in 2023, marking consecutive declines over the past two years. Nevertheless, containerboard capacity remains at near-record levels, fueled by 11 consecutive years of growth averaging 1.6% from 2011 to 2021. The share of containerboard in total paper and paperboard capacity has surpassed 50% since 2021.
On the other hand, packaging paper capacity surged by 4.8%, driven primarily by growth in unbleached packaging papers. Conversely, boxboard capacity experienced a 2.0% decline in 2023. Looking ahead, there are two announcements regarding plans to add boxboard capacity in 2025 to meet the rising demand for paper-based consumer packaging.
Printing-writing capacity witnessed a substantial drop of 5.0% in 2023, underscoring a trend of consecutive declines over the past three years. This decline brings printing-writing capacity below 10 million tons for the first time in over 50 years. Tissue capacity also experienced a modest decline of 0.9% in 2023, despite two consecutive years of decline. However, tissue capacity has demonstrated an average annual growth rate of 0.4% from 2014 to 2023.
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