AF&PA Released Latest Packaging Papers Monthly Report

AF&PA report stated that the operating rate for unbleached packaging papers stood at 84.8%, down 3.2 points from February 2024.

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): The American Forest & Paper Association (AF&PA) released the February 2025 Packaging Papers Monthly report.  

The research states that February of this year saw an 8% year-over-year drop in the overall shipments of packaging sheets and specialized packaging. Comparing the first two months of the year to January-February of last year, the total exports decreased by a slight 2%.

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According to the AF&PA study, the operating rate for unbleached packaging sheets was 84.8%, which was 3.2 percentage points lower than in February 2024. The operating rate was up 0.6% so far this year. Additionally, food packaging shipments for February came to 22,500 short tons, a 5.3% decrease from the same month last year.

In the meantime, compared to February of last year, the overall exports of printing and writing paper fell by 9% in February. The overall printing-writing paper inventory levels showed a 3% decrease from the previous month. Additionally, according to the AF&PA Printing-Writing Monthly Report for February 2025, the United States' purchases of printing-writing materials fell 4% year over year in January of this year.

In February of this year, shipments of Mechanical (MECH) and Uncoated Free Sheet (UFS) paper rose by 5% and 15%, respectively, over the previous month. Conversely, shipments of Coated Free Sheet (CFS) fell by 3%. 

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