Question-and-Answer Session
Thank you. [Operator Instructions]. And the first question we have comes from Joe Stivaletti from Goldman Sachs. Please proceed with your question.
Joe Stivaletti - Goldman Sachs
Good morning, I was wondering if you could comment on the situation with pricing in your industry given all the cost inflation, sort of what happened with the March increase, and how you... what your expectations are looking forward in terms of an ability to offset some of this cost inflation in the near term?
Patrick J. Moore - Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
Okay, thanks for that question Joe. I can say that I am extremely disappointed that the index did not reflect price improvement in the last publication. As I said in my prepared remarks we really believe that many industry conditions continue to favor improved pricing. We have high operating rate, we have low inventories, the continued strength in the export markets with the continued weakness of the dollar, the global competitive advantage for North American containerboard, and certainly as you articulated the cost inflation that we are facing.
I can only assume that the decision was driven by softer package in demand than expected and any noise that we saw around that during the quarter. With that said it seems to us with inflationary pressures again coupled with the low inventory, low containerboard inventories, and the very healthy export markets that any improving domestic demand environment should really support further price improvement in 2008 and that's what we would look for. I'm going to ask just further to that question, maybe ask Steve to elaborate a little bit on both our box price and containerboard increase activities during the quarter to give you some sense of what we accomplished there as well.
Steven J. Klinger - President and Chief Operating Officer
Thanks Pat. On the box side, we executed the $40 per ton price increase peak-to-peak. As we benchmark against the industry, the FDA provides a price index and we actually whether you compare a third quarter to first quarter or fourth quarter to first quarter, our price index on a percentage basis was 0.3% higher than the average for the industry. And as you know, our selling price generally is higher than the average. So, on both components we exceeded what the industry at least reported as the actual price increase.
Secondarily, on the containerboard price during the quarter, as some of you all may have noted we were down slightly $2 or $3 on a per ton basis. When we really look at what happened during the quarter on that, as we put orders at risk during the March timeframe, obviously on some orders we got additional orders and the price went up. And on other orders we did not receive the orders as they were able to get the containerboard from other folks. So in general, the containerboard price was generally flat except for customer mix and then on the box price increase Pat, we were able to execute the $40 per ton price increase.
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