Packaging volumes were up throughout the year, compared to 2023, with record-breaking performance in the third and fourth quarters. Overall, total corrugated products shipments were up 10.5% for the year.

We notified customers of a $70 per ton price increase for linerboard and a $90 per ton price increase for medium effective January 1, 2025.

Over the past several years, we made extensive capital investments throughout the packaging segment to improve productivity and efficiencies at our containerboard mills and corrugated products facilities.

On September 15, 2024, we used the net proceeds from this issuance, together with a portion of cash on hand, to repay our outstanding 3.65% senior notes due 2024.

Our survey results reaffirmed our strong safety culture and our dedication to being socially and environmentally responsible. Our overall engagement index continues to rise and remains consistent with other U.S. manufacturing companies.

The Company maintains a cyber risk management program to prevent, detect and respond to information security threats.

A deterioration in general economic conditions may harm our business, results of operations, cash flows, and financial position. The U.S. economy has experienced persistent inflation, and we have experienced, and continue to experience, cost inflation across our business.

Changes in the prices of our products could materially affect our financial condition, results of operations, and liquidity. Macroeconomic conditions and fluctuations in industry capacity can create changes in prices, sales volumes, and margins for most of our products, particularly commodity grades of packaging and paper products.

ODP Corporation (“ODP”), formerly Office Depot, Inc., along with its subsidiaries and affiliates, is our largest customer in the Paper segment. If these sales are reduced, including if we are unable to renew the agreement at historical volume levels, we would need to find new customers.

The intensity of competition in the industries in which we operate could result in downward pressure on pricing and volume, which could lower earnings and operating cash flows. Our industries are highly competitive, with no single containerboard, corrugated packaging, or UFS paper producer having a dominant position.

UFS paper products compete with electronic data transmission and document storage alternatives. Increasing shifts to electronic alternatives have had and will continue to have an adverse effect on usage of these products.

Some of our competitors are larger than we are and may have greater financial and other resources, greater manufacturing economies of scale, greater energy self-sufficiency, or lower operating costs, compared to our company.

Over the past several years, we made extensive capital investments throughout the packaging segment to improve productivity and efficiencies at our containerboard mills and corrugated products facilities and believe that our success in execution of these capital investments has helped us deliver strong results while minimizing the continued inflationary impact across our cost structure.

We are subject to both contractual, inflation, and other general cost increases. If we are unable to offset these cost increases by price increases, growth, and/or cost reductions in our operations, these inflation and other general cost increases could have a material adverse effect on our operating cash flows, profitability, and liquidity.

Reduced truck and rail availability could lead to higher costs or poorer service, resulting in lower earnings, and harm our ability to distribute our products. We ship our products primarily by truck and rail.

We rely on various information technology and process control systems to capture, process, store, and report data, operate our manufacturing and converting facilities, and interact with customers, vendors, and employees.

Risks related to security breaches of company, customer, employee, and vendor information, as well as the technology that manages our operations and other business processes, could adversely affect our business.

The Company maintains a cyber risk management program to prevent, detect and respond to information security threats.

We did not repurchase any shares of the Company's common stock in 2024, compared to repurchases of 0.3 million shares for $42 million in 2023. We paid $449 million in dividends on our common stock in both 2024 and 2023.

In 2024, we spent $670 million for internal capital investments, compared to $470 million in 2023.

On November 30, 2023, we issued $400 million of 5.70% senior notes due 2033 through a registered public offering. On September 15, 2024, we used the net proceeds from this issuance, together with a portion of cash on hand, to repay our outstanding 3.65% senior notes due 2024.

We are seeking to further improve our environmental impact and have voluntarily set goals to reduce our absolute Scope 1 and 2 (market-based) greenhouse gas emissions by 35% by 2030 from a 2021 baseline year and to reach net-zero carbon emissions within our own operations and our value chain by 2050.

In addition, we and our industry support the American Forest & Paper Association's goal of a 50% reduction in Scope 1 and Scope 2 greenhouse gas emissions intensity by 2030 from a 2005 baseline.

We may not achieve or make satisfactory progress on our ESG goals and targets. If we are unable to meet these goals and targets, our reputation with investors, customers and other stakeholders and businesses may be harmed.

Our operations are subject to compliance with the laws and regulations in the jurisdictions in which we operate, primarily in the United States. Of particular importance are laws and regulations relating to the environment and health and safety matters.

The result of the regulation of greenhouse gas emissions could be an increase in our future environmental compliance costs through carbon cap and trade systems, carbon or other related taxes, or additional capital expenditures to modify facilities to reduce carbon emissions, which may be material.

We are also a party to various legal actions arising in the ordinary course of our business. These legal actions include commercial liability claims, premises liability claims, and employment-related claims, among others.