Paper Products Manufacturers
Industry Profile Report
Dive Deep into the industry with a 25+ page industry report (pdf format) including the following chapters
Industry Overview Current Conditions, Industry Structure, How Firms Operate, Industry Trends, Credit Underwriting & Risks, and Industry Forecast.
Call Preparation Call Prep Questions, Industry Terms, and Weblinks.
Financial Insights Working Capital, Capital Financing, Business Valuation, and Financial Benchmarks.
Industry Profile Excerpts
Industry Overview
The 3,200 companies in the US manufacture paper products by cutting, shaping, coating, or laminating paper and other materials. End products are often referred to as converted paper goods. Product categories include paperboard containers, paper bags, coated and treated paper, stationery products, and sanitary products.
Variability in Raw Materials’ Costs
The paper industry is cyclical and cost of wood pulp (primary material in paper manufacturing) can fluctuate depending on global supply and demand.
Competition from Imports
Imports of converted paper products have grown at a healthy rate over the last decade.
Industry size & Structure
A typical paper product manufacturer employs 84 workers and generates $38-39 million annually.
- The paper product manufacturing industry consists of about 3,200 companies that employ about 269,000 workers and generate $123 billion annually.
- The 50 largest firms account for 62% of industry revenue.
- Some large companies are vertically integrated and own paper mills.
- Large companies include Kimberly-Clark, Smurfit Westrock (formerly Smurfit Kappa and WestRock), and Amcor (Bemis Company).
Industry Forecast
Paper Products Manufacturers Industry Growth
Recent Developments
Oct 8, 2024 - Printing Paper, Packaging Paper Shipments Rise
- Total US printing-writing (P-W) paper shipments increased 4% in August compared to the same month in 2023, according to the American Forest & Paper Association (AFPA). Shipments of the three major grades of P-W paper were mixed in August. Coated free sheet shipments rose 16%, uncoated free sheet was down 1%, and mechanical shipments increased 17%. Total US P-W paper shipment in August were down 4% compared to July. US packaging papers and specialty packaging shipments rose 12% in August compared to the same time a year earlier, according to the AFPA. Year-to-date shipments of packaging papers and specialty packaging were up 12% in the first eight months of 2024 compared to the same period in 2023.
- North American demand for recovered paper is expected to grow as materials recovery facilities (MRF) leverage technology to produce higher volumes of cleaner fiber, according to a recent Fastmarkets webinar. MRFs are investing in optical sorters and AI-enabled equipment that yield cleaner fiber streams, which command higher prices. Improvements at MRFs come as newer paper mill machines have come online in the past year that can process higher volumes of recovered fiber, both mixed paper and old cardboard containers (OCC). Large paper firms – including Smurfit Westrock and Graphic Paper International - are increasingly prioritizing recovered fiber facilities as older plants are closed and remaining operations are consolidated and optimized.
- As of mid-2024, the volume of corrugated container manufacturing mergers and acquisitions (M&A) activity has been strong, according to Printing Impressions. The pace of dealmaking in the corrugated box industry is the strongest in five years. Between August 2023 and July 2024, there were about a dozen corrugated M&A deals. The latest came in July when Ireland-based Smurfit Kappa acquired US packaging firm Westrock to form Smurfit Westrock. The new company will be headquartered in Ireland and have estimated revenue of $34 billion. In April 2024, US-based International Paper (IP) agreed to acquire the UK’s DS Smith in a deal valued at $9.9 billion. The transaction is expected to close before the end of 2024. Industry observers suggest interest in further corrugated M&A activity is robust.
- The paper product manufacturing industry is expected to experience weaker sales growth in 2024 after a slight improvement in demand in 2023. The industry’s year-over-year sales growth declined 2.3% in 2022, according to Inforum and the Interindustry Economic Research Fund, Inc. Sales growth rose 2.6% in 2023 and is projected to moderate to 0.8% in 2024 and 1.7% in 2025 then see steady average annual growth of about 1.7% through 2028, according to Inforum and the Interindustry Economic Research Fund, Inc.
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