March 21, 2010 (FinancialWire) — Sonoco (NYSE: SON) said it will increase prices for molded wood plugs by seven percent effective on shipments as of April 15.

The company said that, using 2005 as a baseline, lumber output in the United States has decreased from 40.5 billion board feet to 22.6 billion board feet in 2009. Sonoco said that, since wood shavings are the primary raw material used to manufacture molded wood products, the company has been adversely affected by decreased supply.

South Carolina-based Sonoco is a global manufacturer of industrial and consumer products and provider of packaging services, with more than 300 operations in 35 countries, serving customers in some 85 nations.

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