(www.chinapaperonline.com) Adverse market conditions and enhanced environmental scrutiny more than offset new capacity expansion in China’s industrial packaging paperboard sector in 2019. According to latest forecast from the China Paper Association (CPA), total production of the country’s industrial packaging paperboard during the year would fall to 55.1 million metric tons, -1.3% from the previous year, while consumption shrinking -1.3% to 57.02 million metric tons at the same time.

Contrary to the structural changes in boxboard production and consumption, declines in containerboard – linerboard and medium - production began in 2018 and continued into 2019, along with greater loss in consumption under growing economic uncertainties inside and outside of China. CPA forecast indicated that linerboard production in 2019 could slip to 21.40 million metric tons, -0.2% from 2018 and consumption down -0.5% to less than 23.33 million metric tons. For medium, production could be lowered by -1.2% to 20.80 million metric tons, while consumption dipping -0.2% to 22.09 million metric tons.

In spite of a series of new capacity start-ups and/or on-going construction, actual production may reduce further in year 2020 under increasing machine downtimes in China and more mill location to foreign countries, market observers believe.