Total U.S. Packaging Papers & Specialty Packaging Shipments Increased 5% in August 2025

The American Forest & Paper Association (AF&PA) has released its May 2022 Packaging Papers & Specialty Packaging Monthly report. According to the report, total packaging papers & specialty packaging shipments in May increased 1 percent compared to May 2021. They were up 1 percent when compared to the same 5 months of 2021. The operating rate was 88 percent, essentially flat (+0.2 pts.) from May 2021 and up 1.1 points year-to-date. Mill inventories at the end of April decreased 6,000 short tons from the previous month, and were down 8,000 short tons compared to April 2021.

Metsä Group’s production units annually generate around 12 million tonnes of wood-based carbon dioxide, and the company is increasingly focusing on promoting its large-scale capture. “Bio-based carbon dioxide is an important but still untapped side stream that could be harnessed more effectively as the technology and markets develop,” says Kaija Pehu-Lehtonen, who has been appointed the new project director of Metsä Group’s carbon capture project. If carbon capture proves viable, it will provide the forest industry with a new high-volume wood-based raw material that can be used to replace fossil-based materials. “We aim to use Nordic wood in a resource-efficient way and make ever greater use of our production side streams to convert wood into increasingly valuable products,” says Sari Pajari-Sederholm, EVP, Strategy at Metsä Group.

The Department of Commerce (DOC) shouldn’t be picking winners and losers in U.S. manufacturing markets, but that is exactly what they are doing in the case of aluminum foil imports. A “self-initiated” case by the DOC against suppliers of aluminum foil from South Korea and Thailand threatens manufacturers of flexible packaging with unwarranted duties on necessary aluminum foil for food, pharmaceuticals, and medical device packaging. These duties are not appropriate as the foil used in these applications is not manufactured in the United States in the quantity and quality needed. In fact, this foil¬—which creates the ideal barrier to bacteria, odor, sunlight, and contamination—is essential to protect the domestic food, health, and medical product supply.