Feb 29, 2008. /Lesprom.com/. Caraustar Industries announced that sales from continuing operations for the 4Q ended December 31, 2007 were $203.9 million compared to sales of $203.0 million for the same quarter in 2006. Loss from continuing operations for the 4Q 2007 was $7.0 million, or $0.25 per share, compared a 2006 fourth quarter loss of $10.8 million, or $0.38 per share. Paperboard volume as recorded by the company declined 22.2 thousand tons, or 9.3%, in the 4Q 2007 versus the 4Q 2006. For the year ended December 31, 2007, sales from continuing operations were $854.2 million, a decrease of 8.4 percent from sales of $933.0 million in 2006. Loss from continuing operations was $0.62 per share for the year ended December 31, 2007. Income from continuing operations for the year ended December 31, 2006 was $1.82 per share. Michael J. Keough, president and CEO of Caraustar, commented, "The company has worked hard to replace volume impacted by a slowing U.S. economy. During the 4Q, our gypsum facing paper mills operated near capacity by producing alternate paper grades (tube and core grades at our Sweetwater mill and containerboard grades at our PBL joint venture), and our same-mill URB volume was up slightly over prior year. Capacity utilization for the industry continues in the low 90 percentiles. We are still challenged by high fiber and energy costs, which compressed margins $17 a ton in our mill group in the 4Q. As a result of continued cost pressures, we announced price increases for URB ($40/ton) and converted products (8%) in the 1Q 2008”. Caraustar Industries, a recycled packaging company, is one of the world's largest integrated manufacturers of converted recycled paperboard.