Cardboard Box Market: Production Slows in Bad Sign for Economy, Global Trade

Cardboard boxes at a packaging station in Wuxi, China.

Dayanne Sousa

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Mills that churn out cardboard are slashing production worldwide, a worrying sign that global trade is slowing down.

North American companies that make the raw material for corrugated boxes shut down nearly 1 million tons of capacity in the third quarter and a similar scenario is expected for the fourth quarter, Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Ryan Fox said. Prices are falling for the first time since 2020.