Dive Brief:
The price of cardboard reached a record high in February, according to the Producer Price Index for corrugated and solid fiber box manufacturing from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). The rising prices indicate e-commerce demand is leading to higher costs for packaging materials.
The index has increased more than 4% since December 2020 and is up the same amount year-over-year, according to the BLS figures.
Corrugated industry shipments were up 3.4% year-over-year in 2020 to reach a total 407 billion square feet, according to figures emailed by the Fibre Box Association.
Cardboard prices reach record highs
Producer Price Index by Industry: Corrugated and solid fiber box manufacturing
Patient readers, this is a bit short. More soon. –lambert
Bird Song of the Day
Another migratory bird from the Birds of the Atlantic Flyway. From the Note: “See 1:27 for a masterful run.”
#COVID19
At reader request, I’ve added this daily chart from 91-DIVOC. The data is the Johns Hopkins CSSE data. Here is the site.
I feel I’m engaging in a macabre form of tape-watching.
Early in February, I said a simple way to compare Biden’s performance to Trump’s on vaccination would be to compare the curves. If Biden accelerated vaccine administration, the rate of vaccination post-Inaugural would kink upward, as the policies of a more effective administration took hold. They have not. The fragmented, Federalized, and profit-driven lumbering monstrosity that we laughingly call our “health care” “system” has not responded to “energy in the executive,” but has continued on its inertial path.
COVID Trickle-Down Tied to Potential Corrugated Shortage
The pandemic has pushed e-commerce into overdrive, boosting the demand for corrugated shipping boxes while also slowing down recycling efforts and supply chains, creating a potential problem (or a great opportunity) for the corrugated industry.
Jan 21st, 2021 Many households have increased online shopping during the last year, boosted by stay-at-home orders and safety concerns related to brick-and-mortar shopping during the pandemic. This push has increased demand for corrugated shipping boxes – up 9% from March 2019 to March 2020, according to the Fibre Box Association, with increased year-over-year gains in June, July, September and October. The holidays expected to see even more e-commerce sales (eMarketer anticipated US retail e-commerce sales would jump 35.8% to $190.47 billion over the holiday season), and a Smithers report states that the corrugated market will reach $300 billion by 2023.
The pandemic has pushed e-commerce into overdrive, boosting the demand for corrugated shipping boxes while also slowing down recycling efforts and supply chains, creating a potential problem (or a great opportunity) for the corrugated industry.
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