Just a couple of months ago, we all experienced an industry wide price increase on all corrugated boxes and cartons. Recent rumors turned out to be true, and the big three corrugated paper producers (Smurfit West Rock, International Paper, and Packaging Corp of America aka PCA) have announced a new price increase. Why? I suppose because they can, since experts say those three companies produce approximately 80% of the paper used to make corrugate board, and boxes.
You Are Not Powerless!
Rather than get into a long, seemingly pointless discussion about justification, capacity, freight costs, utility costs, etc., I would rather focus on how we can help you minimize YOUR corrugated costs.
Simply put, reduce the number of square inches of corrugated board you use, and you reduce the cost per unit. That sounds simple enough, but there are techniques we have developed and used for nearly twenty years to help customers avoid or at least minimize the impact of industry price increases. Here are a few strategies that will minimize your square inches used and your corrugated spend.
Use smaller boxes.
That may sound ridiculously simple, but experience tells us that over 50% of the boxes we review are bigger than truly necessary. There are many reasons why this happens including order and product changes, as well as order size variations. When you factor in shipping costs alone, inbound (to your 3PL) and outbound (to your customers), the resulting savings can far exceed a 5 or 6 percent price increase.
Then we talk about the “just in case” oversized waste. Initially, when first getting started, many customers want to add a couple of inches, just in case they are needed later. More often than not, the additional extra space is never needed and the costs (box, tape, void fill, etc.) continue to add up.
Board specs can make a big difference in box costs. 
Any conversation about cost savings on your corrugated boxes should begin by discussing the application and board spec options. For example, compared to “standard” 200# test corrugated board, slightly thinner 32ECT is less expensive and more than satisfies the vast majority of applications. We have led the charge to thinner E-flute board, and away from thicker B-flute board. There may be some additional savings resulting from shipping and storage of one board versus another.
A new structural design can save 20 to 30% on corrugated costs.
Many of the corrugated shipping containers are made of two components, the outer box or shipper, and the inner packaging that may be partitions, dividers, or inserts. If designed correctly, they should help each other minimize the amount of corrugated overall. If designed incorrectly, they include a lot of redundant panels, flaps, and are costly and not very environmentally friendly.
Adding internal packaging in itself sounds wasteful, but in many cases it can actually result in fewer square inches of board required. For example, a simple, low-cost bottom or top pad or divider may help you reduce the box-board weight specifications. Or in other applications, a well-designed protective, product immobilizing insert can eliminate messy, labor consuming ancillary packaging materials.
Sometimes, the best way to ship something is no box at all. 
People are usually surprised when a company known for making exceptional custom shipping boxes suggests you use a mailer envelope instead. Mailer envelopes are usually less expensive, lighter in weight, easier to store, and can also be custom printed and branded. Check out the mailer envelope section of our web site, via this link.
I always suggest customers look at what the largest e-commerce companies are doing and you will see a shift to paper and plastic mailers envelopes. This includes companies like Amazon, Target, Walmart and countless others. They know how to avoid corrugated box price increases and this is one of many potential solutions. Let’s discuss what you are shipping, how you ship it and where it is going. If there is a better, more price-stable solution, we will help you make the transition in full or in part.
Value experience beyond your own, especially if it is free.
We have literally reviewed and redesigned thousands of different corrugated containers and customer projects. Gratefully, we have produced millions of boxes every single year we have been in operation. My wife/partner and I have a combined 80 years of packaging design and application experience. So, it is possible and probable we have seen and done a few things you have not. That is not to minimize what you have learned about your business and customers, because your history combined with our experience, is sure to produce great results.
Visit our gallery and see a small sample of what we have done for other companies. This blog is also filled with hundreds of posts, all designed to help you better understand your options and how to best use them.
Call us at 630-551-1700 or contact us via this site. We are so eager to help you and there is absolutely no cost for the call or application review.
Related posts:
https://www.salazarpackaging.com/the-firm-code-for-packaging-design/
https://www.salazarpackaging.com/3-reasons-to-buy-your-holiday-packaging-today/
https://www.salazarpackaging.com/direct-to-consumer-packaging-and-common-sense/
https://www.salazarpackaging.com/celebrating-18-years-of-e-commerce-packaging-transparency/