SIC 2657 Folding Paperboard Boxes, Including Sanitary

SIC 2657

Establishments in this industry are primarily engaged in manufacturing folding paperboard boxes from purchased paperboard, including folding sanitary food boxes or cartons (except milk cartons). Products include folding paperboard boxes such as cereal boxes; folding cartons; frozen food containers; ice cream containers; folding sanitary food pails, such as those used for takeout food from restaurants; and paperboard backs for blister packages.

NAICS CODE(S)

322212

Folding Paperboard Box Manufacturing

INDUSTRY SNAPSHOT

In the mid-2000s, the folding paperboard box industry was recovering some of the ground it had lost in the decade's earlier years. The value of folding paperboard box shipments in 2006 was $8.6 billion. This figure was still a far cry from the $8.92 billion reached in 1997, yet was a considerable improvement from the $8.07 billion in shipments recorded in 2002.

Plastic continues to be a strong competitor for the paperboard box industry. Among its advantages are its durability and its ability to conform to a variety of shapes and sizes. A backlash against disposable plastic products, however, may revitalize the use of paper products in upcoming years.

ORGANIZATION AND STRUCTURE

Folding box manufacturers have expanded production of high-quality, high-whiteness boxes suitable for four-color-process printing. Better visual appeal of such packaging often translated into higher impulse purchases by consumers, and folding boxboard customers often would pay a premium price for goods so boxed.

However, unlike its corrugated container cousins, the folding paperboard box faces direct competition from alternative materials, principally the bewildering array of plastics. The growth of flexible bags, pouches, and wraps, as well as rigid carriers and containers made from plastics, has created a serious challenge to the dominance of the folding paperboard box in the packaging marketplace.

Folding paperboard boxes have also faced competition from other paperboard products. In some retail applications, corrugated products and carded "blister packs" (paperboard backings that hold a molded plastic insert) have been used as a substitute for paperboard boxes.

Sales in the folding carton industry are traditionally seasonal. The industry typically starts the year strongly after a slump in sales during December. Sales usually slow down slightly from April to July, and then they...

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