Since the fourth quarter of last year, the frequency of paper price increases has become increasingly high, even rising twice within a week. The phenomenon of "Luoyang paper is expensive" has repeatedly occurred, and I believe many peers' social circles have been flooded with price increase letters one after another. The rise in paper prices has attracted high attention from the whole society, and CCTV Economic Channel has reported it multiple times!

Well, the National Day and Mid Autumn Festival holidays have just ended, and CCTV Economic Channel has set its sights on the paper packaging industry for the eighth time. Because of the rise in paper prices, the soaring carton prices have directly raised the operating costs of e-commerce. Many netizens have roast: "This year's Double 11 Festival will not only grab goods, but may also grab express cartons."

70% surge in one year, e-commerce faces' cardboard crisis'

On the day after the National Day and Mid Autumn Festival holidays, Mr. Ma, a cardboard wholesaler, ordered two trucks of goods early in the morning. Due to the fact that the price of cardboard boxes has been fluctuating every day, he was worried that the demand would continue to rise after the holiday. Therefore, he increased his purchase volume: "Due to the increase in raw material prices, we have to stock up a little every day. This year, the price has increased several times

Mr. Ma said that compared to the same period last year, the prices of various specifications of cardboard boxes have increased by at least 70%, and since the beginning of the year, the supply of goods has been tight, and cardboard box factories often delay shipments. Mr. Ma also said, "Previously, it only took two days to place an order, but now sometimes it takes four or five days to arrive

Reporter: Is the supply of goods a bit tight now?

Boss Ma: Hmm.

Reporter: Which type of cardboard box is more tense?

Boss Ma: All kinds of cardboard boxes are the same, they are all the same.

The price of cardboard boxes has skyrocketed, and e-commerce companies engaged in online transactions have been the first to be affected. Tan Dongming, who works in hardware trading on Jingxi Street in Baiyun District, Guangzhou, revealed that an ordinary express cardboard box increases the cost by at least 1 to 2 yuan: "Sometimes we ship 200 to 300 pieces a day, and even if the price increases by 20 cents every time, we lose dozens of yuan in a day

The rise in cardboard prices not only increases the operating costs of e-commerce, but also has a significant impact on manufacturers engaged in the manufacturing industry. Taking color boxes as an example, last year the price was 7 yuan per box, but now the price is close to 12 yuan per box. Li Wenxiao, the person in charge of the electric control door production enterprise, said, "When you send something out, you definitely need to use cardboard boxes. If you don't use them, many products will be damaged during transportation

Reporter: Are there any substitutes available?

Li Wenxiao: No, there's nothing we can do about it. The cardboard box is definitely necessary.

Is it feasible to recycle a box that is hard to find?

The continuous rise in the price of cardboard boxes and the issue of utilizing waste cardboard boxes have once again attracted social attention. Earlier, several express delivery companies in Guangdong Province announced that they would launch green packaging materials. So, what is the execution situation? Mr. Guo, who likes online shopping, scanned a lot of goods during the National Day holiday, unpacked them, and then "threw them away directly

Reporter: Won't it be used to sell for money or something?

Mr. Guo: No, how much can a small one like this be sold for?

Reporter: If it's a large item, will it be kept for sale?

Mr. Guo: Not really, it takes up a lot of space.

Don't think that used cardboard boxes are not valuable, in fact, their price has already risen from 3 cents per kilogram to 8 to 9 cents per kilogram. A citizen from Guangzhou, Guangdong Province said, "Many people will check what they didn't pick up before, those who walk will also pick it up, those who pass by will also pick it up, and our elderly garbage collectors will also pick it up

At present, the recycling method of waste cardboard boxes is relatively simple. Generally, they are collected by waste recycling stations and then sent to cardboard box manufacturers for pulp production to produce new cardboard boxes, which are then returned to the market. In order to save resources, well-known express delivery companies such as Shunfeng and Sitong Yida have advocated the use of green packaging materials in Guangdong Province this year. However, reporters visited multiple express delivery online stores and found that couriers were not familiar with green packaging materials.

Courier: I don't know, I haven't seen it before.

Reporter: Haven't you seen it before?

Courier: Yes, I don't know which one you're referring to.

A person in charge of a courier company said, "E-commerce and product manufacturers play a decisive role in the use of cardboard boxes. We believe that the crazy price increase of cardboard boxes will increase the costs of many manufacturers, thereby reducing the excessive packaging of goods and promoting the recycling of cardboard boxes

Every year on Singles' Day, there are about 1 billion express cardboard boxes generated in a single day. In 2017, the total amount of express waste in China will reach 40 billion pieces, but the recycling rate of traditional cardboard boxes in China is less than 20%. Prior to this, many places and logistics companies had tried methods such as water recycling or secondary packaging, but ultimately the thunder was louder than the rain.

Ultimately, the legislation and standards for the express delivery and recycling industry have yet to emerge. In fact, there are regulations for the recycling of express packaging in many countries. For example, the United States has implemented certain tax reductions for companies that recycle packaging, while France has shifted the responsibility to consumers, hoping that this cardboard crisis can become an environmental opportunity.

Nowadays, our printing and packaging enterprises are facing many difficulties, such as paper prices being the first to bear the brunt. However, this is only the current dilemma. As a business, we should have a longer-term and far sighted vision. So for enterprises, there is another urgent issue, which is transformation and upgrading.