Why Did the Price of My Boxes Go Up?  And What Can I Do About It?

The primary factor in establishing the price of a box is the price of the paper used to manufacture the box.  There was a time when there were many manufacturers of the paper but consolidation in the mill and pulp industries has allowed paper manufacturers to take inefficient mills off-line.  This reduces the supply of paper.   After 2+ years of no price increases during a period of economic recession, paper manufacturers have balanced the supply of paper with the demand for paper and have decided that demand exceeds supply by enough that they can raise the price of paper – our raw material.

But that doesn’t mean you have to just accept that it “costs what it costs.”  Our account managers and designers have years of experience.  Use that experience to your advantage!  Invite them to evaluate your packaging purchases and packaging designs.  There may be a way that we can redesign your packaging so that your overall cost increase is minimized.  Also, consider things like just in time delivery, decreased waste and on-time rate when you are looking at the total cost of packaging.  Ask your account manager for help – we want to be your partner in this process.

When you select corrugated as your packaging material, you help to reduce the burden on our limited landfill space. Corrugated is 100% recyclable and is biodegradable.  About 78.3% of all corrugated packaging is recycled. (source:  source: AF&PA—www.afandpa.org). But this only tells part of the story.  At Container Service Corp., we take being a green supplier a step further by inviting Bureau Veritas to annually audit our purchasing and manufacturing processes.  We have Certified Sourcing certification from both the Sustainable Forestry Initiative and the Forest Service Council.

Certifications are nice.  They establish credibility and help us verify our claims.  But they are not the whole story when it comes to being a Green company.  Good design matters, too.  We can help you design your packaging in ways that maximize the effectiveness of the package while it minimizes the amount of material used.  Sometimes, you need to decrease the recycled content of the paper in a box in order to increase the strength of the paper, allowing you to reduce the total amount of paper being used.  Our designers know how to factor all of the variables as they design your packaging.  For more information, contact your account manager or email us at info@containerservicecorp.com.