Folding Carton Shipments Remain Strong Despite Softness in September

Folding carton shipments are a leading indicator of the consumer nondurables market. The weakness in the market we see may be an indicator of slowing industrial production. In fact, the Federal Reserve is reporting a 1 percent decrease year-over-year in Industrial Production for consumer goods for September, after several months of growth. The PMI index remains over 50, but has dropped 1.6 percentage points between August and September to 52.7 percent.