Targeting Success
March 2004
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The folding carton market is facing a stiff challenge from alternative packaging and foreign competition, but the
industry is gearing up for the challenge.
by Tom Polischuk, Editor-in-Chief
IF THE VIEW of Ben Markens, president of the consulting firm Converter's Resource, is correct, the folding carton industry has a big target on its back. It seems as though a couple "great whites" are trying to gobble up chunks of the folding carton volume pie, and for the short-term are doing a pretty good job of it.
The hungry sharks in question come in the form of stand-up pouches and overseas manufacturing. "Competition from alternate packaging and offshore sourcing of packaged products will remain key concerns for U.S. converters going forward," states Jerry Van de Water, president of the Paperboard Packaging Council (PPC).
The industry is fighting back, and in the long run, the battles could have overall positive results for the industry. The American Forest & Paper Association (AF&PA), an organization with a broad focus on the forest, paper, and wood products industry, is lobbying hard for governmental corrective reforms on several fronts. In a statement issued in response to the Bush Administration's January initiative to bolster the U.S. manufacturing sector, the organization highlighted several areas for reform.
"Economic pressures caused by unfair global competition are harming U.S. forest products manufacturing competitiveness. Public policies in the regulatory, trade, energy, and tax areas are equally destructive. …
"We would encourage the Administration to attack these problems on several fronts. Tax: Reduce the tax rate on manufacturing income and reform tax rules for U.S. companies that sell products overseas. Regulatory: Sound science should be the root of all regulations. Benefits should outweigh costs. Energy: A new energy bill should increase access to natural gas on federal land. Legal: Restore sanity to the legal system by passing class action reform and solve the asbestos crisis. Trade: Secure tariff elimination on manufactured goods, end currency manipulation, and eliminate foreign government subsidization of new capacity building in sectors with excess capacity."
Changes in government policy are usually measured in many months, and the tangible results from any changes could be measured in years. For companies that have a shorter time frame to work with (and there's probably a lot of these), Van de Water reports that the PPC has begun an effort to do a better job in selling the benefits of paperboard packaging to the market.
industry is gearing up for the challenge.
by Tom Polischuk, Editor-in-Chief
IF THE VIEW of Ben Markens, president of the consulting firm Converter's Resource, is correct, the folding carton industry has a big target on its back. It seems as though a couple "great whites" are trying to gobble up chunks of the folding carton volume pie, and for the short-term are doing a pretty good job of it.
The hungry sharks in question come in the form of stand-up pouches and overseas manufacturing. "Competition from alternate packaging and offshore sourcing of packaged products will remain key concerns for U.S. converters going forward," states Jerry Van de Water, president of the Paperboard Packaging Council (PPC).
The industry is fighting back, and in the long run, the battles could have overall positive results for the industry. The American Forest & Paper Association (AF&PA), an organization with a broad focus on the forest, paper, and wood products industry, is lobbying hard for governmental corrective reforms on several fronts. In a statement issued in response to the Bush Administration's January initiative to bolster the U.S. manufacturing sector, the organization highlighted several areas for reform.
"Economic pressures caused by unfair global competition are harming U.S. forest products manufacturing competitiveness. Public policies in the regulatory, trade, energy, and tax areas are equally destructive. …
"We would encourage the Administration to attack these problems on several fronts. Tax: Reduce the tax rate on manufacturing income and reform tax rules for U.S. companies that sell products overseas. Regulatory: Sound science should be the root of all regulations. Benefits should outweigh costs. Energy: A new energy bill should increase access to natural gas on federal land. Legal: Restore sanity to the legal system by passing class action reform and solve the asbestos crisis. Trade: Secure tariff elimination on manufactured goods, end currency manipulation, and eliminate foreign government subsidization of new capacity building in sectors with excess capacity."
Changes in government policy are usually measured in many months, and the tangible results from any changes could be measured in years. For companies that have a shorter time frame to work with (and there's probably a lot of these), Van de Water reports that the PPC has begun an effort to do a better job in selling the benefits of paperboard packaging to the market.
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