The U.S. Department of Justice subpoenaed Smurfit Westrock, International Paper and Packaging Corporation of America in September, the companies disclosed in their respective quarterly reports to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission this week. This stems from a grand jury investigation in the Northern District of Illinois regarding the pricing and sale of containerboard and related products.
Smurfit Westrock said in its filing that DOJ issued the subpoena on Sept. 22 and the company is “fully cooperating” with the investigation. The company “believes that its business practices and those of its subsidiaries have been conducted in compliance with U.S. antitrust laws.”
“While the Company is currently unable to determine the ultimate outcome of these matters or estimate the range of potential loss due to the early stage of these proceedings, it is possible that an adverse outcome could have a material impact on its financial condition, results of operations, or cash flows,” according to the securities document issued Wednesday morning.
Smurfit Westrock does not have additional details to provide regarding the investigation or its timing, a company spokesperson told Packaging Dive via email.
Similarly, IP reported in its securities filing Wednesday afternoon that DOJ issued a subpoena on Sept. 24. The company said in the filing it is cooperating with the investigation. IP also said it had no further comment.
PCA said in its quarterly filing Thursday that it too received a grand jury subpoena from DOJ’s antitrust division in September “requesting the production of certain documents relating to its business.” PCA is “cooperating fully with the investigation,” the company said in the filing.
Typically when a grand jury is involved, prosecutors have some evidence of an agreement among competitors, according to a Wednesday memo from Adam Josephson, packaging industry analyst and founder of Sakonnet Research. He didn’t find other instances of DOJ price-fixing prosecution related to U.S. containerboard producers in recent decades.
Smurfit, IP and PCA also noted in their filings that they're still part of an ongoing class-action containerboard price-fixing lawsuit, which is also playing out in the Northern District of Illinois. The suit was filed in July 2025 and accused numerous major containerboard producers — including Cascades, Georgia-Pacific, Pratt Industries and others — of creating a “cartel” and engaging in price collusion to boost profits at the expense of customers.
Smurfit Westrock was dismissed from that lawsuit in October 2025, presumably because the company did not exist during the time period in question; the company formed via Smurfit Kappa’s acquisition of WestRock in 2024. Those two subsidiaries are still included in the price-fixing lawsuit.
In September, a judge denied defendants’ motions to dismiss the case. Judge Mary M. Rowland suggested in her filing that there’s enough evidence of a potential conspiracy to warrant further exploration of the claims in a lawsuit.
Last week, IP, Smurfit Kappa, WestRock and PCA were among the defendants that filed responses. Responses contained nearly identical language denying “any and all allegations of wrongdoing” and again called for the case to be dismissed and legal fees to be reimbursed.
“Given the early stage of the claim and our intention to defend robustly against such claim, it is too early to predict or reasonably estimate the overall outcome or ultimate potential liability (if any) that might be incurred. There can be no guarantee that the aggregate of possible damages could not have a material impact on our financial condition," IP said in its Wednesday securities filing in regard to the class action suit.
Regarding this antitrust case, Smurfit Westrock is “confident that we have strong defenses to the allegations and intend to defend the case vigorously,” the spokesperson said via email.
Further related to pricing, SW's securities filing echoed what executives have said on earnings calls: inflation costs are “unprecedented” this year, and these costs are passed to customers via product price increases. However, “these clauses may not in all cases be effective to offset rising costs,” according to the securities filing.
It notes there’s typically a three- to six-month lag in the time the company’s input costs increase and the realization of higher customer pricing. “There can be no assurance that announced price increases will be fully realized, that they will be realized within the time frames we expect, or that they will be sufficient to offset increases in our costs,” the document says.
Smurfit Westrock, International Paper and PCA are among the major containerboard producers that introduced three rounds of price hikes this year. The third wave, in particular, was met with widespread pushback, including from AICC, The Independent Packaging Association. Many view the increases as unjustified, especially amid lagging demand, producers downgrading their financial guidance, and other economic factors. Containerboard prices to date in 2026 are approximately 20% higher than last year
Editor’s note: This story has been updated with information about International Paper, PCA and Smurfit Westrock.
