Smurfit-Stone Container Corp., one of the country's largest makers of cardboard boxes, is reported to be considering filing for bankruptcy amid weakening sales and a cash crunch.

Smurfit-Stone slid 29 cents, or 81 percent, to 7 cents a share at 12:05 p.m. New York times on the NASDAQ Stock Market. A close at that price would be the biggest drop since the shares began trading in May 1994. The shares fell 98 percent last year.

The Wall Street Journal reports today that Smurfit-Stone has hired bankruptcy counsel and financial advisers in an effort to line up about $750 million in debtor-in-possession financing.

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