for more than 85 years. It says in the last five years, defen- dants engaged in “numerous unprecedented and unjusti- fied price increases, often implemented at the exact same time and for the exact same increase.” This “conspiracy” resulted in customers paying higher prices for container- board than would have existed in a competitive market, according to the filing. This lawsuit stems from Mount Vernon, New York- based Artuso Pastry purchasing containerboard products from WestRock, now Smurfit Westrock, and paying “an arti- ficially high price,” according to the complaint. The plaintiff claims that containerboard prices were relatively stable throughout the 2010s, but have jumped dramatically over the last five years — 33 percent from November 2020 to September 2022. The lawsuit alleges that no changes occurred to economic conditions such as input costs or demand “that could plausibly account for the magnitude of the price increases” that the producers implemented. Reasons that producers have cited for the hikes include increased input costs for raw materials, transportation, en- ergy and labor. Some industry observers have questioned the timing of containerboard price hikes during the last two years, citing weak demand and a global oversupply. Part of the problem is the amount of industry consol- idation that has occurred over the last few decades, the lawsuit says, citing that just a handful of companies now control the vast majority of market share, 85 percent, for containerboard products.
AVERAGE CONTAINERBOARD PRICES The average prices reported are tabulated from prices PAID by various sources throughout the United States the week previous to issue. Prices in some areas of the country may be higher or lower than the tabulated average. The prices tabulated here are intended only for purposes of reference. They do not connote any commitment to sell any material at the indicated average. Transactions may be completed at any time at a price agreed upon by seller and purchaser. REGION 42# Kraft liner 26# Semi-Chem. Medium $ 900.00-925. 00 $ 825. 00 -$850.00 U.S. Average CANADIAN LINERBOARD & MEDIUM The average prices reported are tabulated from prices PAID by various sources throughout Canada. Prices may be higher or lower in various areas of the country. The prices tabulated here are intended only for purposes of reference. They do not connote any commitment to sell any material at the indicated average. Transactions may be completed at any time at a price agreed upon by seller and purchaser. Prices are Canadian $ and per metric ton. 42# Kraft Liner 26# Semi-Chem Medium East $970.00 $960.00 West $1,015.00 $995.00 REGION
Lawsuit Accuses (CONT’D FROM PAGE 1)
board producers, also in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, on accusations of con- spiring to increase prices and reduce output from 2004 to 2010. That case resulted in multiple containerboard companies, including Packaging Corporation of America and International Paper, settling via multimillion-dollar pay- ments, although Georgia-Pacific and WestRock went to court. Many of the defendants in the Kleen Products case are also named in the new lawsuit. In the current nearly 50-page filing, Artuso Pastry said current containerboard producers and their predecessors have engaged in anticompetitive behavior and price fixing
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August 11, 2025
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