Fastmarkets RISI to launch North American corrugated box cost benchmark on 19 October
Fastmarkets RISI will launch a corrugated box cost benchmark (CCB) for North America on 19 October 2026, weighting manufacturing wages, equipment and OCC costs to track industry cost trends rather than spot prices, with consultation closing on 5 October 2026. The move follows criticism of its containerboard price index, whose underlying public spot market analysts put at about 5% of industry volume after years of vertical integration. It lands alongside a USD 140 per ton containerboard price increase, the third announced this year, which drew protests from the AICC.
Why this mattersWith the public spot market down to about 5% of volume, a cost-based benchmark shifts the reference point in containerboard and box contracts away from producer-announced prices.
- Fastmarkets RISI will launch a corrugated box cost benchmark for North America on 19 October 2026, with consultation closing on 5 October 2026.
- The benchmark weights manufacturing wages at 26%, equipment maintenance and other manufacturing costs at 14% each and OCC at 10%, indexed to January 2019 equal to 100.
- The index tracks relative cost movements rather than absolute box prices, combining Fastmarkets RISI fibre data with third-party labour, energy, chemicals, equipment and transport indicators.
- Analysts put the public spot market underlying the existing containerboard price index at about 5% of industry volume after years of vertical integration.
- A USD 140 per ton containerboard price increase, the third announced this year, drew protests from the AICC trade association.
- Adam Josephson of Sakonnet Research noted the index was announced on 18 September 2026, on the eve of Pulp and Paper Weekly statistics.