SIC 2656 Sanitary Food Containers, Except Folding

SIC 2656

This category includes establishments primarily engaged in manufacturing non-folding food containers from special foodboard. Industry products include paperboard beverage cartons, round and nested food containers, paper cups for hot or cold drinks, and stamped plates, dishes, spoons, and similar products. Establishments primarily engaged in manufacturing similar items from plastic materials are classified in Industry Group 308; those making folding sanitary cartons are classified in SIC 2657: Folding Paperboard Boxes, Including Sanitary.

NAICS CODE(S)

322215

Nonfolding Sanitary Food Container Manufacturing

This industry consists of three major segments: cups and liquid-tight paper and paperboard containers; milk and milk-type paperboard cartons; and other sanitary paper and paperboard food containers, boards, and trays.

From the late 1990s to the mid-2000s, the value of U.S. nonfolding sanitary food container product shipments increased slightly. According to a report by Supplier Relations US LLC, U.S. shipments totaled $3.2 billion in 2006, up from $2.99 billion in 2001.

Nonfolding sanitary food container manufacturers employed 11,092 workers in 2005, down from 14,709 in 1997. There were 60 establishments in the industry in 2005, with an annual payroll for all employees of $404 million that year.

Although paperboard remains a staple of the food container industry, it faces competition from other materials. Metal cans and glass jars saw increased innovation and growth during the late twentieth century. In the 2000s, it was plastic containers that experienced the most growth. The Foodservice & Packaging Institute reports that the value of shipments for thermoplastic resins and plastic materials segment grew 21.1 percent between 2004 and 2005. Although paperboard food containers also experienced growth during this period, it was more modest. Cups and liquid-tight paper and paperboard containers, for example, grew only 0.9 percent.

Despite the fact that paper cups, plates, and other disposable paper products are relatively difficult to recycle—most are contaminated with food or beverages after use—the category continued to grow throughout the decade. In the mid-1990s, manufacturers of sanitary food containers were able to answer some of their environmental critics by including recycled fiber in their products. This was made possible when the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued...

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