The American Forest & Paper Association released the November 2024 Printing-Writing Monthly report. According to the report, total printing-writing paper shipments decreased 6% in November compared to November 2023. U.S. purchases of total printing-writing papers increased 2% in October compared to the same month last year. Total printing-writing paper inventory levels increased 1% when compared to October 2024. November year-to-date (YTD) total U.S. shipments grew 2% compared to the same period last year. UFS and CFS shipments increased by 0.1% and 7% YTD, respectively. MECH shipments however, decreased 2% YTD.

Andrew King, Mondi Group Chief Executive Officer, commented: “Mondi demonstrated resilience through the year in the face of ongoing difficult trading conditions, characterised by soft demand and a challenging pricing environment. This resilience highlights the strength of our cost-competitive, strategically located integrated assets and our great people. Furthermore, our ability to adapt with agility and flexibility to market uncertainties, combined with our unwavering focus on product quality, reliability and innovation in offering a diverse portfolio of sustainable packaging and paper solutions, has been central to delivering value to our stakeholders. “In 2024 Mondi successfully started up five major capacity expansion projects on time and within budget building a strong platform for growth. The largest of these, the new paper machine at Štětí (Czech Republic), commenced operations ahead of schedule in December. We are very appreciative of the commitment of our colleagues who have worked tirelessly over the last few years to deliver these projects. Our focus now turns to executing our operational and commercial strategy and leveraging our expanded product offering.

The American Forest & Paper Association released new industry guidance that aims to clear up consumer confusion regarding the recyclability of pizza boxes. The guidance resulted from a study conducted by WestRock – an AF&PA member company – that found the presence of grease and cheese at levels typically found on pizza boxes does not impact manufacturing in a negative way. “Corrugated pizza boxes are successfully recycled every day at paper mills throughout the country, yet consumers remain confused by mixed messages suggesting that some boxes should not be put in the recycle bin,” said AF&PA President and CEO Heidi Brock. “So, let’s be clear: pizza boxes are recyclable. Consumers should not be concerned about grease or cheese – simply remove any leftover pizza and place the box in the recycle bin. We encourage communities to update their residential recycling programs guidelines to explicitly accept pizza boxes that are free of food.”