Global Corrugated Boxes Market Report and Forecast 2025-2034

Corrugated boxes are cost-effective, lightweight, reliable, and easily transportable. They are also easy-to-customise, versatile, and provide excellent structural integrity; such benefits are boosting their utilisation in diverse end use sectors such as food, textile, industrial, medical, and electronics packaging, among others.

With the trend of online shopping, the demand for corrugated boxes has gained momentum across the globe. Manufacturers are designing corrugated boxes in different shapes and sizes to make the packaging unique and attractive. It has encouraged e-commerce retailers like Flipkart and Amazon to use them widely for storage and shipping purposes. Besides, these boxes are capable of photorealistic image printing, which in turn helps in effective marketing and promotion of the products among consumers. Consequently, they are highly preferred in shelf-ready packaging (SRP) and retail-ready packaging (RRP).

Figure: Largest E-Commerce Sectors- 2022 (USD Billion)

Key Trends and Developments

Corrugated Boxes Market Trends

Corrugated cardboard boxes are recognised as the backbone of the e-commerce supply chain. The market constantly works with brand owners and consumer packaged goods (CPG) customers to alter box sizes and print high-quality graphics to enhance the purchaser’s in-home experience and communicate brand values.

Corrugated boxes produced from corrugated paperboard components can be made from either virgin or recycled wood fibres. The use of recycled wood fibres is increasing as it is considerably cheaper and reduces waste disposal to landfills, aiding in the process of reducing environmental degradation.

The low cost of labour and tools required to manufacture the boxes reduces the manufacturing costs, while the boxes’ lightweight keeps shipping costs lower. The ability to use corrugated boxes for various purposes such as storage, shipping, and advertising also enhances their reusability, as they can be folded back up and stored away to be used later in homes, offices, and stores.

Market Segmentation

Based on material, recycled corrugates are expected to account for a significant share of the corrugated boxes market

The rising awareness of sustainability has increased the use of recycled corrugates to produce corrugated boxes, as this helps promote a circular economy while reducing deforestation rates. Recycling corrugated material helps minimise the waste in a landfill, lowering the methane released into the atmosphere as the corrugation waste decomposes. Additionally, recycled corrugated boxes produced from recycled fibres have reduced deforestation due to lowered dependence on virgin wood fibres.

Virgin corrugated boxes, on the other hand, are manufactured from fibres derived from trees such as pine, spruce, birch, and eucalyptus. Virgin corrugated boxes are free of recycled content.

Virgin corrugated boxes can withstand heat and moisture and offer superior protection to products against humid environments. The fibres are long and strong, making the resulting corrugated boxes ideal for transporting heavy-duty products.

Based on end use, food products and beverages dominate the corrugated boxes market share

Food manufacturers are adopting corrugated boxing solutions to enhance the appeal and attractiveness of their products. There is an increasing consumption of packaged food and beverages, which is likely to surge the use of corrugated boxes for packaging and transportation, providing enhanced safety at affordable prices.

As consumers are increasingly focusing on sustainable packaging, the usage of corrugated boxes in beverage applications is anticipated to grow as they are made from recyclable, renewable, and biodegradable resources.

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Competitive Landscape

Notable players in the corrugated boxes market offer high-quality, cost-effective products with low end-of-life GHG emissions.

International Paper Company

International Paper Company is primarily engaged in the manufacture of renewable fiber-based packaging and pulp products. The company operates 24 pulp and packaging mills, 163 converting and packaging plants, 16 recycling plants and three bag facilities in the US.

Nine Dragons Paper (Holdings) Limited

Headquartered in China, Nine Dragons Paper is a leading manufacturer of paper in terms of production...

Smurfit Kappa Group plc

Founded in 2005, Smurfit Kappa is one of the world's leading providers of paper-based packaging solu...

Westrock Company

Westrock Company, based in the US, is engaged in the manufacture and distribution of sustainable fib...

*Please note that this is only a partial list; the complete list of key players is available in the full report. Additionally, the list of key players can be customized to better suit your needs.*

Rengo Co., Ltd

It is primarily engaged in the production and sales of corrugated board, corrugated boxes, folding cartons, paper products, and others. It offers products and solutions for packaging under four major groups which are: paperboard and packaging, flexible packaging, heavy-duty packaging, and overseas businesses.

Corrugated Boxes Market Analysis by Region

Companies in Europe are setting ambitious sustainability targets, due to which they prefer corrugated boxes made from resources that are recyclable in closed-loop systems. In food and beverage applications, innovative corrugated boxes as an alternative to plastic packaging are increasingly being adopted to boost the appeal of end products among consumers. The European corrugated boxes market thus benefits from the growing trend of sustainability and stringent environmental regulations.

Meanwhile, Asia is a significant vegetable and fruit producer in the world owing to the presence of countries such as China and India that are known for their agricultural market. The agricultural segment has adopted recyclable moisture-proof corrugated boxes that suppress the evaporation of water from fruits and vegetables to retain their freshness.

The textile manufacturing segment is a crucial component of the MEA’s economy, with countries such as Jordan, the UAE, Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia, and Egypt constantly developing the sector to become global producers of clothes and fabrics. The growing textile segment in the region is a significant consumer of corrugated box packaging utilised to transport yarns to weavers and finished cloth to the end-users, thereby aiding the corrugated boxes market expansion.

Corrugated Boxes Market Report Snapshots

Corrugated Boxes Market Size

Corrugated Boxes Market Trends

Corrugated Boxes Companies

Corrugated Boxes Market Regional Analysis