Nature of Operations and Basis of Presentation	12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2022
Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]
Nature of Operations and Basis of Presentation	1. Nature of Operations and Basis of Presentation Packaging Corporation of America (“we,” “us,” “our,” “PCA,” or the “Company”) was incorporated on January 25, 1999. In April 1999, PCA acquired the containerboard and corrugated packaging products business of Pactiv Corporation (Pactiv), formerly known as Tenneco Packaging, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Tenneco Inc. We are a large, diverse manufacturer of both packaging and paper products. We are headquartered in Lake Forest, Illinois and we operate primarily in the United States. We have approximately 15,100 employees. We report our business in three reportable segments: Packaging, Paper, and Corporate and Other. Our Packaging segment produces a wide variety of containerboard and corrugated packaging products. The Paper segment manufactures and sells a range of communication-based papers. Before October 2020, our Jackson, Alabama mill had historically operated as a UFS paper mill, with its results of operations reported in our Paper segment. Beginning in October 2020, operating results for the Jackson mill are included in both the Packaging and Paper segments. During the fourth quarter of 2020, in order to meet strong packaging demand and maintain appropriate inventory levels, we temporarily began producing linerboard on the No. 3 machine at our Jackson, Alabama mill. In the first quarter of 2021, we announced the discontinuation of production of UFS paper grades on the machine and the permanent conversion of the machine to produce linerboard and other paper-to-containerboard conversion related activities. In the third quarter of 2021, we began producing corrugating medium on the No. 1 machine at the Jackson mill (which had produced UFS paper in the past) to help satisfy our demand for containerboard, build necessary inventories, and evaluate the capability of the machine to produce containerboard on a cost-effective basis. Corporate and other includes support staff services and related assets and liabilities, transportation assets, and activity related to other ancillary support operations. For more information about our segments, see Note 19, Segment Information. The consolidated financial statements include the accounts of PCA and its majority-owned subsidiaries after elimination of intercompany balances and transactions.

Nature of Operations and Basis of Presentation

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2022

Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]

Nature of Operations and Basis of Presentation

Packaging Corporation of America (“we,” “us,” “our,” “PCA,” or the “Company”) was incorporated on January 25, 1999. In April 1999, PCA acquired the containerboard and corrugated packaging products business of Pactiv Corporation (Pactiv), formerly known as Tenneco Packaging, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Tenneco Inc. We are a large, diverse manufacturer of both packaging and paper products. We are headquartered in Lake Forest, Illinois and we operate primarily in the United States. We have approximately 15,100 employees.

We report our business in three reportable segments: Packaging, Paper, and Corporate and Other. Our Packaging segment produces a wide variety of containerboard and corrugated packaging products. The Paper segment manufactures and sells a range of communication-based papers.

Before October 2020, our Jackson, Alabama mill had historically operated as a UFS paper mill, with its results of operations reported in our Paper segment. Beginning in October 2020, operating results for the Jackson mill are included in both the Packaging and Paper segments. During the fourth quarter of 2020, in order to meet strong packaging demand and maintain appropriate inventory levels, we temporarily began producing linerboard on the No. 3 machine at our Jackson, Alabama mill. In the first quarter of 2021, we announced the discontinuation of production of UFS paper grades on the machine and the permanent conversion of the machine to produce linerboard and other paper-to-containerboard conversion related activities. In the third quarter of 2021, we began producing corrugating medium on the No. 1 machine at the Jackson mill (which had produced UFS paper in the past) to help satisfy our demand for containerboard, build necessary inventories, and evaluate the capability of the machine to produce containerboard on a cost-effective basis.

Corporate and other includes support staff services and related assets and liabilities, transportation assets, and activity related to other ancillary support operations. For more information about our segments, see Note 19, Segment Information.

The consolidated financial statements include the accounts of PCA and its majority-owned subsidiaries after elimination of intercompany balances and transactions.