Study Shows Benefits of Corrugated Shippers

Published: April 16, 2015

ELK GROVE VILLAGE, IL | A new study from the Corrugated Packaging Alliance (CPA) quantifies sizeable added costs for shipping onions from grower to retailer in reusable plastic containers (RPCs) vs corrugated containers. Actual data provided by a large onion grower confirmed that using RPCs instead of corrugated containers increased their annual shipping costs by 10.4% system-wide. 

“Corrugated, the proven and preferred single-use transport packaging material, remains the most economical and best choice for shipping onions, as well as other products,” says Dennis Colley, executive director of the Corrugated Packaging Alliance. “That advantage is realized by every stakeholder in the supply chain.”

Grower-shippers shoulder a hefty cost increase, shelling out 15.4% ($0.17/case) more to ship the same amount of onions in RPCs vs. corrugated, says the study. Retailers are not exempt—they spend 9.9% ($0.61/case) more to receive those onions in RPCs than in corrugated containers. Reportedly, these costs are often passed on to the consumer.

According to the Alliance, the study proves that choosing corrugated containers enables both retailers and grower-shippers to save money due to optimized freight loads, reduced damage from collapsed pallets and loads, and avoiding the costs of washing, sanitizing, and drying containers.

The CPA is a corrugated industry initiative, jointly sponsored by the American Forest & Paper Assn., AICC–The Independent Packaging Assn., the Fibre Box Assn., and TAPPI.

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