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Corrugated Facts and Figures
What is Corrugated?
Corrugated board is a combination of at least three sheets of paper, collectively called containerboard. The paper layers on the outside are known as the liners, or linerboard, while the fluted or wave-shaped material in the middle layer is called corrugating medium.
Corrugated board comes in different thicknesses, depending on the height of the flutes, and number of flutes per foot, as follows:
Source: Association of Independent Corrugated Converters,
Buyer's Guide to Corrugated Packaging
In industry terms, this three-layer corrugated material shown here is called singlewall corrugated board. Two or three layers of corrugated board can also be combined for stronger packaging requirements. These are called doublewall or triplewall corrugated.
For more information about containerboard in general, or linerboard or medium, or for information about how paper is made contact the American Forest and Paper Association, or the Technical Association of the Pulp & Paper Industry.
How Much is produced?
The corrugated packaging industry produced nearly 400 billion square feet in shipments for the year ending 1996. These were valued at $21 billion.
Where's Corrugated made?
There are nearly 1,500 corrugated packaging plants in the United States and Canada. There are basically three kinds of corrugated packaging plants.
- Corrugator Plants: Plants that combine containerboard into corrugated board are called corrugator plants. Typically, these plants also have equipment that converts the corrugated board into finished corrugated products: boxes, shipping containers, point-of-purchase displays and other kinds of protective and distribution packaging. There are approximately 600 corrugator plants in the United States and Canada.
- Sheet Plants: Plants that purchase already-combined corrugated board, called sheets in corrugated industry terms, and convert these into boxes, shipping containers and displays are called sheet plants. In physical terms, these plants are usually smaller than corrugator plants, but they can also be highly specialized in their product mix - high-end graphics, inner-packing and other items to serve customer needs. There are more than 800 sheet plants in the U. S. and Canada.
- Sheet Suppliers: There's a third kind of corrugated plant called a sheet supplier. These plants' specialty is combining corrugated board into corrugated sheets exclusively for purchase by sheet plants. They have no other converting equipment to make finished boxes, shipping containers, point-of-purchase displays or other corrugated product. There are approximately 50-60 sheet suppliers in the United States and Canada.
| Typical U.S. Corrugator Plant: Facts & Figures |
|
| Annual Sales (Avg. US $) |
$35,331,000 |
| Annual Production (Avg. Square Foot Produced) |
535.1 Million |
|
| Employment |
| |
Sales and Customer Service |
20.4 |
| |
Plant Production Personnel |
113.9 |
| |
Shipping and Distribution |
7.8 |
| |
Office |
8.2 |
| | Other |
1.8 |
|
| |
Total |
152.1 |
| Plant Size (Square Feet, Avg.) |
| | Manufacturing Area |
149,650 |
| |
Warehouse Space |
62,588 |
| |
Office |
9,618 |
|
| |
Total |
221,618 |
Source: 2001 AICC Profile of the Independent Corrugated Converter
| Typical U.S. Sheet Plant: Facts & Figures |
|
| Annual Sales (Avg. US $) |
$17,742,000 |
| Annual Production (Avg. Square Foot Produced) |
202.7 Million |
|
| Employment |
| |
Sales and Customer Service |
11.0 |
| |
Plant Production Personnel |
36.2 |
| |
Shipping and Distribution |
3.8 |
| |
Office |
3.7 |
| |
Other |
0.7 |
|
| |
Total |
55.4 |
| Plant Size (Square Feet, Avg.) |
| |
Manufacturing Area |
48,214 |
| |
Warehouse Space |
39,104 |
| |
Office |
5,519 |
|
| |
Total |
92,837 |
Source: 2001 AICC Profile of the Independent Corrugated Converter
| Typical Canada Sheet Plant: Facts & Figures |
|
| Annual Sales (Avg. Canadian $) |
$12,054,000 |
| Annual Production (Avg. Square Foot Produced) |
109.8 Million |
|
| Employment |
| |
Sales and Customer Service |
12.8 |
| |
Plant Production Personnel |
45.5 |
| |
Shipping and Distribution |
2.8 |
| |
Office |
6.1 |
| |
Other |
8.7 |
|
| |
Total |
75.9 |
| Plant Size (Square Feet, Avg.) |
| |
Manufacturing Area |
37,526 |
| |
Warehouse Space |
19,538 |
| |
Office |
6,269 |
|
| |
Total |
63,333 |
Source: 2001 AICC Profile of the Independent Corrugated Converter
Skills and Careers in Corrugated
The corrugated packaging industry employs an estimated 80,000-90,000 people in the United States and Canada in a number of challenging and exciting careers. The corrugated industry depends on skills and educational ability in structural and graphic design, production, sales and customer service, accounting and management information systems as well as managerial expertise in sales management, finance and general management. Several universities and colleges offer four-year degrees in packaging science, and students can often elect to specialize in the corrugated packaging industry. For more information email icpf@aiccbox.org.
Where's Corrugated Used?
Corrugated is the largest segment of all paperboard packaging products. Here's a breakdown of the major end-use markets for corrugated packaging products:
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