AF&PA Releases 66th Annual Paper Industry Capacity and Fiber Consumption Survey

The American Forest & Paper Association (AF&PA) has released its 66th Annual Paper Industry Capacity and Fiber Consumption Survey, reporting that U.S. paper and paperboard production declined 3.7% in 2025 to 66.3 million tons, while several key segments maintained stable operating performance.

According to the survey, containerboard operating rates remained strong at 91.9%, while printing-writing operating rates increased to 82.8% from 76.8% in 2024. Packaging paper production rose 1.7% during the year, boxboard production was essentially unchanged at 12.4 million tons, and tissue production remained near 7.8 million tons.

AF&PA President and CEO Heidi Brock said the survey highlights the scale of the U.S. paper manufacturing industry and ongoing efforts by manufacturers to align capacity with market demand.

Overall fiber consumption used in paper and paperboard production decreased 3.5% compared with 2024. Wood pulp consumption declined 3.2%, while recovered fiber consumption fell 4.0%.

Containerboard production dropped 4.4% to 36.1 million tons, and capacity declined 5.1% in 2025. Despite the reduction, containerboard continued to represent more than half of total U.S. paper and paperboard capacity.

Printing-writing capacity fell 13.9% to 7.7 million tons, continuing a longer-term decline from nearly 18 million tons in 2015. However, the segment recorded improved operating rates during the year.

Tissue production decreased 0.8% to 7.8 million tons, maintaining its position as a significant component of the industry’s product portfolio.

The survey provides capacity data for 2025 and 2026 across major grades of paper, paperboard and pulp, as well as fiber consumption figures. AF&PA said its data represent approximately 87% of U.S. paper and paperboard industry capacity, with estimates used to complete the dataset.