Industry shipments of corrugated products increased 9.0 percent, from 31.87 bsf in March of 2019 to 34.73 bsf in March of 2020, the Fibre Box Association (FBA) reported. The increase is partially due to the fact there was one more shipping day in March of 2020. Average week shipments increased 4.0 percent, from 7.588 bsf in 2019 to 7.895 bsf in 2020. Shipments of corrugated products increased 2.7 percent year-to-date.
Containerboard consumption was 2.865 million tons in March of 2020, up from 2.596 million tons, or 10.3 percent, in March of 2019. Consumption increased 5.1 percent year-to-date over 2019, from 7.803 million tons to 8.193 million tons. Containerboard inventory at corrugator plants decreased 7.4 percent, from 2.2978 million tons in February 2020 to 2.1278 million tons in March 2020. Weeks of supply shrunk from at 3.7 to 3.3, or 10.8 percent.
