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Research
U.S. South linerboard industry: Restoring the competitive edge
The U.S. South is the world’s leading linerboard producer. The southern linerboard industry benefits from ample fiber supplies and well-developed industrial infrastructure. Rising trade and intensifying global competition, however, put the industry under increasing pressure to improve its competitive position. The industry is negatively affected by rising manufacturing costs and production shifts to countries of origin for imports such as China. Competitors have also developed and use on a broad scale cost-effective alternatives to kraft linerboard produced in the U.S. South. To assess the industry’s competitive position and identify factors that influence its future, we examine its technological assets, manufacturing costs, and product markets. The industry is about average in terms of technological assets and in manufacturing costs. This indicates that, in absence of any changes, the industry may experience increasing problems in retaining its leading position. In search for solutions that would raise the competitiveness of the U.S. South linerboard industry, we analyze fiber cost and availability, investments in new capacity, and product standards.
View the results of this study at: Center for Forest Business Research Note #26
Jacek P. Siry, Assistant Professor, Thomas G. Harris, Jr., Professor, and Sara Baldwin, Project Coordinator, Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, and David Null, Principal and Jose Gonzalez, Senior Consultant, Jaakko Pöyry Consulting, Tarrytown, NY.