Commitments, Guarantees, Indemnifications and Legal Proceedings (Details) (USD $) In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	2 Months Ended	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended
	Oct. 31, 2010	Sep. 30, 2014	Sep. 30, 2013	Sep. 30, 2014		Sep. 30, 2013
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]
Number of other U.S. and Canadian containerboard producers	PCA and eight other U.S. and Canadian containerboard producers were named as defendants
Number of lawsuits filed by the plaintiffs	5
Class action lawsuit settlement		$ 0	$ 0	$ 17,600	[1]	$ 0

[1] The nine months ended September 30, 2014, includes $17.6 million of costs for the settlement of the Kleen Products LLC v Packaging Corp. of America et al class action lawsuit. See Note 18, Commitments, Guarantees, Indemnifications and Legal Proceedings, for more information.