The Cardboard Boxpocalypse and the State of the US Economy

Podcast: Odd Lots (LS 64 · TOP 0.05% what is this?) Episode: The Cardboard Boxpocalypse and the State of the US Economy Pub date: 2025-09-15 Get Podcast Transcript → powered by Listen411 - fast audio-to-text and summarization Almost everything we buy nowadays has been in a box at some point. Goods are shipped in boxes. Products ordered online arrive at our doorstep in boxes. Boxes are so ubiquitous that some strategists use them as an unconventional macroeconomic indicator to gauge retail spending. Now, shipments of boxes are falling dramatically. At the same time, prices for boxes have actually been going up. So, what's going on? And what does it suggest about the health of the US consumer and the broader economy? In this episode, we speak with Ryan Fox, containers and packaging analyst for Bloomberg Intelligence. We talk about the box industry overall, how companies choose their packaging, and what makes the perfect box. Read more: Lula, Xi Decry Tariffs and Urge BRICS Unity Amid Trump Threats What Declining Cardboard Box Sales Tell Us About the US Economy Only Bloomberg - Business News, Stock Markets, Finance, Breaking & World News subscribers can get the Odd Lots newsletter in their inbox each week, plus unlimited access to the site and app. Subscribe at bloomberg.com/subscriptions/oddlots See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Bloomberg, which is the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Listen Notes, Inc.