The Impact of COVID-19 On Packaging: Price Increases & Supply Shortages for Corrugated, Chipboard & Edgeboard

If your business uses corrugated, chipboard, or edgeboard products, this post is for you. 

As a result of the challenges brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic & changing market dynamics, many paper product manufacturers are beginning to announce significant cost increases due to a number of factors, including: 

• Demand – COVID-19 has caused ecommerce shipments to skyrocket. One supplier has noted that in the last quarter the amount of corrugated box shipments in North America soared to the second highest they have seen in the past 30 years.  

• Raw Material Price Increases – Raw material mills have announced prices will increase in a few months time.

• Operational & Labor Costs – additional sanitation measures have decreased productivity and therefore increased our suppliers’ operational & labour costs.  

What This Means 

These conditions affect everyone in the supply chain and will therefore impact purchases of corrugated, chipboard, and edgeboard products through extended lead times, price increases, and supply shortages. 

Our Commitment 

Crawford Packaging remains committed to providing the most up-to-date and transparent information regarding these industry challenges and we encourage you to contact us should you have any questions or concerns.