Since the fourth quarter of last year, the frequency of paper price increases has become higher and higher, with prices even increasing twice within a single week. The phenomenon of "Luoyang paper being expensive" has occurred repeatedly. I believe that the WeChat Moments of many industry insiders have been flooded with one price increase letter after another. The rise in paper prices has already attracted great attention from the whole society, and CCTV Economic Channel has even reported on it multiple times!
It happened this time: right after the National Day and Mid-Autumn Festival holiday, CCTV Economic Channel focused its attention on the paper packaging industry for the eighth time. Due to the rise in paper prices, the soaring price of cartons has directly pushed up the operating costs of e-commerce. Many netizens have complained one after another: "This year, we may not only have to snap up goods, but also may have to compete for express delivery cartons."
A 70% surge in one year: E-commerce encounters a "carton crisis"
After the National Day and Mid-Autumn Festival holiday, Boss Ma, a carton wholesaler, received two truckloads of goods early in the morning. Because the price of cartons has been changing almost recently, he worries that the demand will be high after the holiday and prices may continue to rise, so he increased the purchase volume: "Because raw materials are getting more expensive, we have to stock up a little every day, and prices have gone up several times this year."
Boss Ma said that compared with the same period last year, the prices of cartons of various specifications have risen by at least 70%, and since the beginning of the year, supply has been tight, and carton factories often delay delivery. Boss Ma also said: "In the past, the goods arrived within two days after placing an order, but now sometimes it takes four to five days."
Reporter: Is the supply a little tight now?
Boss Ma: Mm-hmm.
Reporter: Which type of cartons is relatively tight in supply?
Boss Ma: All specifications of cartons are the same, it's like that across the board.
With the crazy rise in carton prices, e-commerce businesses engaged in online transactions are the first to be affected. Tan Dongming, who engages in hardware trade in Jingxi Street, Baiyun District, Guangzhou, revealed that the cost of an ordinary express carton has increased by at least 1 to 2 yuan: "Sometimes I ship 200 to 300 pieces. Even if the price increases by 20 cents each, I lose dozens of yuan."
The rise in carton prices not only increases the operating costs of e-commerce, but also has a great impact on manufacturers engaged in manufacturing. Take colored cartons as an example: the price was 7 yuan each last year, and now the price is close to 12 yuan each. Li Wenxiao, person in charge of an electric control door manufacturing enterprise, said: "You definitely need cartons to ship a product out. Without them, many products will be damaged during transportation."
Reporter: Are there any alternatives?
Li Wenxiao: No, there's no way, there's really no alternative. Cartons are definitely indispensable.
"One carton is hard to get": Is circular recycling feasible?
With the continuous rise in carton prices, the utilization of waste cartons has once again aroused social concern. Earlier, a number of express delivery enterprises in Guangdong Province announced that they would launch green packaging materials. So, how is the implementation going? Mr. Guo, who likes online shopping, bought a lot of goods during the National Day holiday. After unpacking, he just "threw them away directly."
Reporter: Won't you keep them to sell for money or anything?
Mr. Guo: No, how much can such a small one sell for?
Reporter: If it's a large one, will you keep it to sell?
Mr. Guo: No either, it takes up too much space.
Don't think waste cartons are worthless. In fact, their price has long risen from 30 cents per catty to 80 to 90 cents per catty. A resident of Guangzhou, Guangdong Province said: "Many people who didn't pick them up before pick them up now. Pedestrians pick them up, passers-by pick them up, even we elderly garbage pickers pick them up too."
At present, the recycling method of waste cartons is relatively simple. Generally, after being recycled by waste recycling stations, they are sent to carton manufacturers, which beat them into pulp to produce new cartons, which then flow back to the market. To save resources, well-known express delivery enterprises such as Shunfeng and the Four Tongs and One Da initiated an initiative to use green packaging materials in Guangdong Province this year. However, when the reporter visited many express delivery outlets, he found that couriers know nothing about green packaging materials.
Courier: No idea, never seen it.
Reporter: Never seen it?
Courier: That's right, I don't know which kind you're talking about.
A person in charge of an express delivery enterprise said: "E-commerce platforms and product manufacturers play a decisive role in the use of cartons. It is believed that the sharply rising price of cartons will increase the costs of many manufacturers, prompting them to reduce excessive packaging of goods and promote the recycling of cartons."
Every year, there are about 1 billion express cartons generated in a single day. In 2017, the total amount of express delivery waste in China will reach 40 billion pieces, but the recycling rate of traditional cartons in China is less than 20%. Before this, many places and many logistics enterprises have tried methods such as recycling or secondary packaging, but it has always been much thunder and little rain.
In the final analysis, the legislation and standards for the express packaging recycling industry have not been introduced yet. In fact, many countries have regulations on express packaging recycling. For example, the United States gives a certain amount of tax cuts to enterprises that recycle packaging, while France transfers the main responsibility to consumers. It is hoped that this carton crisis can become an opportunity for environmental protection.
Nowadays, our printing and packaging enterprises are facing many difficulties, with paper price being the most prominent one, but this is only the current predicament. In running a business, we should look further and think far-sighted. For enterprises, there is another issue that is extremely urgent, which is transformation and upgrading.
Since the fourth quarter of last year, the frequency of paper price increases has become higher and higher, with prices even increasing twice within a single week. The phenomenon of "Luoyang paper being expensive" has occurred repeatedly. I believe that the WeChat Moments of many industry insiders have been flooded with one price increase letter after another. The rise in paper prices has already attracted great attention from the whole society, and CCTV Economic Channel has even reported on it multiple times!
It happened this time: right after the National Day and Mid-Autumn Festival holiday, CCTV Economic Channel focused its attention on the paper packaging industry for the eighth time. Due to the rise in paper prices, the soaring price of cartons has directly pushed up the operating costs of e-commerce. Many netizens have complained one after another: "This year, we may not only have to snap up goods, but also may have to compete for express delivery cartons."
A 70% surge in one year: E-commerce encounters a "carton crisis"
After the National Day and Mid-Autumn Festival holiday, Boss Ma, a carton wholesaler, received two truckloads of goods early in the morning. Because the price of cartons has been changing almost recently, he worries that the demand will be high after the holiday and prices may continue to rise, so he increased the purchase volume: "Because raw materials are getting more expensive, we have to stock up a little every day, and prices have gone up several times this year."
Boss Ma said that compared with the same period last year, the prices of cartons of various specifications have risen by at least 70%, and since the beginning of the year, supply has been tight, and carton factories often delay delivery. Boss Ma also said: "In the past, the goods arrived within two days after placing an order, but now sometimes it takes four to five days."
Reporter: Is the supply a little tight now?
Boss Ma: Mm-hmm.
Reporter: Which type of cartons is relatively tight in supply?
Boss Ma: All specifications of cartons are the same, it's like that across the board.
With the crazy rise in carton prices, e-commerce businesses engaged in online transactions are the first to be affected. Tan Dongming, who engages in hardware trade in Jingxi Street, Baiyun District, Guangzhou, revealed that the cost of an ordinary express carton has increased by at least 1 to 2 yuan: "Sometimes I ship 200 to 300 pieces. Even if the price increases by 20 cents each, I lose dozens of yuan."
The rise in carton prices not only increases the operating costs of e-commerce, but also has a great impact on manufacturers engaged in manufacturing. Take colored cartons as an example: the price was 7 yuan each last year, and now the price is close to 12 yuan each. Li Wenxiao, person in charge of an electric control door manufacturing enterprise, said: "You definitely need cartons to ship a product out. Without them, many products will be damaged during transportation."
Reporter: Are there any alternatives?
Li Wenxiao: No, there's no way, there's really no alternative. Cartons are definitely indispensable.
"One carton is hard to get": Is circular recycling feasible?
With the continuous rise in carton prices, the utilization of waste cartons has once again aroused social concern. Earlier, a number of express delivery enterprises in Guangdong Province announced that they would launch green packaging materials. So, how is the implementation going? Mr. Guo, who likes online shopping, bought a lot of goods during the National Day holiday. After unpacking, he just "threw them away directly."
Reporter: Won't you keep them to sell for money or anything?
Mr. Guo: No, how much can such a small one sell for?
Reporter: If it's a large one, will you keep it to sell?
Mr. Guo: No either, it takes up too much space.
Don't think waste cartons are worthless. In fact, their price has long risen from 30 cents per catty to 80 to 90 cents per catty. A resident of Guangzhou, Guangdong Province said: "Many people who didn't pick them up before pick them up now. Pedestrians pick them up, passers-by pick them up, even we elderly garbage pickers pick them up too."
At present, the recycling method of waste cartons is relatively simple. Generally, after being recycled by waste recycling stations, they are sent to carton manufacturers, which beat them into pulp to produce new cartons, which then flow back to the market. To save resources, well-known express delivery enterprises such as Shunfeng and the Four Tongs and One Da initiated an initiative to use green packaging materials in Guangdong Province this year. However, when the reporter visited many express delivery outlets, he found that couriers know nothing about green packaging materials.
Courier: No idea, never seen it.
Reporter: Never seen it?
Courier: That's right, I don't know which kind you're talking about.
A person in charge of an express delivery enterprise said: "E-commerce platforms and product manufacturers play a decisive role in the use of cartons. It is believed that the sharply rising price of cartons will increase the costs of many manufacturers, prompting them to reduce excessive packaging of goods and promote the recycling of cartons."
Every year, there are about 1 billion express cartons generated in a single day. In 2017, the total amount of express delivery waste in China will reach 40 billion pieces, but the recycling rate of traditional cartons in China is less than 20%. Before this, many places and many logistics enterprises have tried methods such as recycling or secondary packaging, but it has always been much thunder and little rain.
In the final analysis, the legislation and standards for the express packaging recycling industry have not been introduced yet. In fact, many countries have regulations on express packaging recycling. For example, the United States gives a certain amount of tax cuts to enterprises that recycle packaging, while France transfers the main responsibility to consumers. It is hoped that this carton crisis can become an opportunity for environmental protection.
Nowadays, our printing and packaging enterprises are facing many difficulties, with paper price being the most prominent one, but this is only the current predicament. In running a business, we should look further and think far-sighted. For enterprises, there is another issue that is extremely urgent, which is transformation and upgrading.