Corrugated box production will reach a new high in 2020, and it is still possible to continue to grow appropriately.

Rachel Kenyon, senior vice president of the fibre box Association, said that the corrugated box industry’s product shipments in 2020 were 407 billion square feet, equivalent to about 39 billion boxes. This output reached its highest level since 1999, an increase of 3.4% over 2019.

After reaching its peak in the late 1990s, corrugated paper production fell sharply in the recession year of 2009, only 345 billion square feet. Since then, until 2019, the output of corrugated paper has been rising slowly. Kenyon said that due to the influence of covid-19, e-commerce transactions soared and the demand for corrugated paper also increased greatly.

“E-commerce has developed for some time, but it will not really reach the level affecting the whole corrugated paper industry until 2020.” Kenyon said that when demand jumped, suppliers ended up one after another. In March 2020, the shipment volume jumped to an all-time high, decreased in April and may, increased in June, and reached a new high in September and October.

She said: “Our industry is really trying to meet this demand, and we continue to operate at a high level. The United States is a net exporter of tree fiber used for corrugated boxes, so domestic supply is large, and customers do not rely on the global supply chain slowed by the epidemic. With the demand of holidays and e-commerce, corrugated paper shipments are expected to remain strong until the end of this year Strength.

“We have ready-made fiber supplies here, and not only that, we also have recycled fiber.” she pointed out that an ordinary corrugated box has 52% recycled ingredients. There are more than 1100 corrugated paper production plants in the United States, each serving customers with a radius of about 150 miles.

In addition, Kenyon said that many suppliers have their own truck fleet, which prevents them from being affected by the continuous shortage of trucks and truck drivers. Corrugated packaging can be widely recycled, which enables the industry to make new boxes from recycled materials. The recovery rate of corrugated materials is about 90%. For antitrust reasons, FBA does not track prices or inflation experienced by corrugated suppliers and customers.

Corrugated paper manufacturers want regulators and legislators to recognize what they have done to encourage recycling. “An ordinary box already has 52% recycled ingredients, but we are still looking for improvement,” Kenyon said of the matter

In 2022, the fibrebox association plans to release the fourth corrugated paper life cycle assessment update since the first report was released in the early 21st century. The document will report on indicators such as greenhouse gas emissions.

“We have been looking for continuous improvement and how our approach reflects these improvements,” she said. In addition, the problem of composting can be officially studied in the packaging industry. Corrugated dry box packaging is produced by fiber, starch and water, which can be naturally biodegradable.

Kenyon said that while continuing to encourage all consumers who receive e-commerce boxes to recycle them, the industry is working to make corrugated boxes certified as compostable.

Commercial premises, such as grocery stores, have always been a great partner for packaging corrugated boxes and returning them to the manufacturer for new cartons. Kenyon encourages the supply chain of the agricultural industry to remind consumers to recycle cartons they receive in e-commerce transactions.

Kenyon said: “our main driving force is to encourage consumers to recycle, so agricultural companies or grocery retailers can say to consumers, ‘if you receive a box at home, please recycle it into the recycle bin’; this is really important for us, and we need to get these fibers.”