North America containerboard quarterly: Q3 2024
After avoiding a full-on economic recession in the US, containerboard demand in 2024 is slowly but steadily recovering from the destocking in 2023. As the global mega-mergers are underway, the industry is taking a fine comb through their domestic operations – while much effort was focused on capacity optimization initiatives by temporarily or permanently closing assets in the past years, we started to see new corrugated assets being planned.
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Report summary
As the corrugated sector slowly picks up momentum, our latest forecasts suggest:
- Demand growth is set to reach 2.3% CAGR in the next 24 months, with moderate fluctuations for the remainder of 2024.
- The supply outlook has turned more negative, suggesting a net capacity loss from optimization efforts.
- Positive developments in linerboard prices, surpassing USD 1000/metric ton in early 2026.
Co-Author: Jean-Baptiste Verroken
