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§ 3 of 15

Index reference

The index clause tells both sides which published number feeds the formula: the publication, the grade, the region, the side of the published range, and which month’s value applies to which shipments. A formula is only as fair as this definition, and small choices here move the price by dollars per ton.

Updated · Not legal advice

3.1

Which index do US cardboard contracts use?

Most cite the monthly OCC (11) assessment from Fastmarkets RISI, reported in Pulp & Paper Week, whose methodology lists Official Board Markets (the trade's old "Yellow Sheet") as the legacy source. Public examples read "PPW OCC (11) Buffalo High" (Steuben County, NY) and "OBM SW High" (Boulder County, CO). Others use Secondary Materials Pricing (recyclingmarkets.net), which Kitsap County, WA names for its cardboard rebate. See how OCC indexes work for each publisher.

3.2

What must the clause name?

  1. Publication and assessment, for example Fastmarkets RISI, OCC (11), FOB seller's dock.
  2. Region. Fastmarkets publishes nine US regions, from New England to the Pacific Northwest. Pick the one your material actually moves in.
  3. Side of the range. The assessment is a range; "high", "low" or "midpoint" must be stated.
  4. Month. The month of shipment, the month before, or an average. Fastmarkets says its recovered paper prices are usually published around the 5th of the month, and cover orders taken in the month to date for shipment that month.
  5. Fallback. What happens if the series is renamed, discontinued or revised.
3.3

Does region choice really matter?

Yes. A ResourceWise analysis (2014) argued that a national average index can undervalue material for a company whose stores sit in a higher-priced region, and that a regional or custom-geography index is fairer to both sides. The same logic applies inside one company: a contract for a Southeast DC priced off the Midwest series is a bet on the gap between the two.

3.4

Can I publish or share the index value?

Usually not. Index values are licensed. Contracts often oblige the buyer to show you the value used each month, which you are entitled to see, but you may not be licensed to republish it. This site never publishes index values; the calculator asks you to type yours in.

3.5

Sample wording

Illustrative wording to adapt. Brackets are choices to make.

4.1 Index Price. "Index Price" for a month means the high side of the price range for Old Corrugated Containers (11), FOB seller's dock, US [Southeast], in US dollars per short ton, as first published by Fastmarkets RISI for that month.

4.2 Statement. Each settlement statement shall show the Index Price used.

4.3 Successor. If the Index Price is discontinued or materially changed, the parties shall agree a successor within 30 days; until then the last published Index Price applies.

3.6

What to negotiate

  • Choose the region your material actually moves in, not the one the buyer’s template uses.
  • State the side of the range. The high side is common in public examples; it is a starting position, not a rule.
  • Use the month of shipment where you can, so a rising market reaches you without a lag.
  • Require the index value on every settlement statement.

Red flags in a draft

  • "The prevailing market price" with no publication named.
  • A buyer-published "index" built from the buyer’s own purchases.
  • No successor clause: if the series changes, the buyer picks the replacement.
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Questions

What is the OCC index?
A published monthly assessment of what mills pay for baled old corrugated containers. The most-cited US series is Fastmarkets RISI’s OCC (11), FOB seller’s dock, in dollars per short ton, by region.
What does "high side" mean?
Fastmarkets publishes each region as a price range. "High side" means the top of that range is used in the formula.

Sources

  1. North America Recovered Paper: methodology and price specifications, Fastmarkets RISI, October 2024.
  2. RFP PW-21-005-P, Marketing of Recyclable Materials and Scrap Metal: bid tabulation, Steuben County, New York, bid date November 12, 2020.
  3. Recycling rebates for haulers (tiered fiber formula and monthly rates), Boulder County, Colorado, accessed October 2026.
  4. Request for Proposals 2024-038, Addendum No. 1, Kitsap County Purchasing Office, Washington, closing January 15, 2025.
  5. Indexing options for recycling contracts, ResourceWise (Forest2Market), March 13, 2014.
  6. OCC price increases evoke divergent effects across value chain, Waste Dive, July 22, 2026.