SCORING BOXES

OFFICERS

Chairman: Gene Marino, Akers Packaging Service Group, Chicago, Illinois First Vice Chairwoman: Jana Harris, Harris Packaging/ American Carton, Haltom City, Texas Vice Chairs: Matt Davis, Packaging Express, Colorado Springs, Colorado Gary Brewer, Package Crafters, High Point, North Carolina Finn MacDonald, Independent II, Louisville, Kentucky Immediate Past Chairman: Jay Carman, StandFast Packaging Group, Carol Stream, Illinois Chairman, Past Chairmen’s Council: Joe Palmeri, Jamestown Container Cos., Macedonia, Ohio President: Michael D’Angelo, AICC Headquarters, Alexandria, Virginia Secretary/General Counsel: David Goch, Webster, Chamberlain & Bean, Washington, D.C. AICC Canada: Renee Annis

DIRECTORS

West: Jack Fiterman, Liberty Diversifi ed Industries, Minneapolis, Minnesota Southwest: Michael Drummond, Packrite, High Point, North Carolina Southeast: Ben DeSollar, Sumter Packaging Corp., Sumter, South Carolina Midwest: Casey Shaw, Batavia Container Inc., Batavia, Illinois Great Lakes: Josh Sobel, Jamestown Container Cos., Macedonia, Ohio Northeast: Stuart Fenkel, McLean Packaging, Pennsauken, New Jersey AICC Canada: Terri-Lynn Levesque, Royal Containers Ltd., Brampton, Ontario, Canada AICC México: Juan Javier Gonzalez, Cartró, S.A.P.I. de C.V., Tepotzotlán, Mexico

OVERSEAS DIRECTOR

Kim Nelson, Royal Containers Ltd., Brampton, Ontario, Canada

DIRECTORS AT LARGE

Kevin Ausburn, SMC Packaging Group, Springfi eld, Missouri Eric Elgin, Oklahoma Interpack, Muscogee, Oklahoma Guy Ockerlund, OxBox, Addison, Illinois Mike Schaefer, Tavens Packaging & Display, Bedford Heights, Ohio

EMERGING LEADER DELEGATES

Cassie Malone, Corrugated Supplies Co. LLC, Chicago, Illinois Lauren Frisch, Wasatch Container, North Salt Lake, Utah John McQueary, CST Systems, Atlanta, Georgia

ASSOCIATE MEMBER DIRECTORS

Chairman: Greg Jones, SUN Automation Group, Glen Arm, Maryland Vice Chairman: Tim Connell, A.G. Stacker Inc., Weyers Cave, Virginia Secretary: John Burgess, Pamarco, Roselle Park, New Jersey Director: TBD

Immediate Past Chairman, Associate Members:

Joseph Morelli, Huston Patterson Printers, Decatur, Illinois

ADVISORS TO THE CHAIRMAN

Joseph M. Palmeri, Jamestown Container Cos., Macedonia, Ohio Al Hoodwin, Michigan City Paper Box, Michigan City, Indiana Joseph Morelli, Huston Patterson Printers, Decatur, Illinois

PUBLICATION STAFF

Publisher: Michael D’Angelo, mdangelo@AICCbox.org Editor: Virginia Humphrey, vhumphrey@AICCbox.org

EDITORIAL/DESIGN SERVICES

The YGS Group • www.theYGSgroup.com Vice President: Serena L. Spiezio Content & Copy Director: Craig Lauer Managing Editor: Julia Berley Senior Editor: Sam Hoffmeister Copy Editor: Steve Kennedy Art Director: Alex Straughan Account Manager: Max Lalwani

SUBMIT EDITORIAL IDEAS, NEWS & LETTERS TO:

BoxScore@theYGSgroup.com

CONTRIBUTORS

Maria Frustaci, Director of Administration and Director of Latin America Cindy Huber, Director of Conventions & Meetings Chelsea May, Education and Training Manager Laura Mihalick, Senior Meeting Manager Patrick Moore, Membership Services Manager Taryn Pyle, Director of Training, Education & Professional Development Alyce Ryan, Marketing Manager Steve Young, Ambassador-at-Large Richard M. Flaherty, President, ICPF

ADVERTISING Taryn Pyle

703-535-1391 • tpyle@AICCbox.org

Patrick Moore

703-535-1394 • pmoore@AICCbox.org

AICC

PO Box 25708 Alexandria, VA 22313 Phone 703-836-2422 Toll-free 877-836-2422 Fax 703-836-2795

www.AICCbox.org

ABOUT AICC

PROVIDING BOXMAKERS WITH THE KNOWLEDGE NEEDED TO THRIVE IN THE PAPER-BASED PACKAGING INDUSTRY SINCE 1974

We are a growing membership association that serves independent corrugated, folding carton, and rigid box manufacturers and suppliers with education and information in print, in person, and online. AICC membership is for the full company, and employees at all locations have access to member benefi ts. AICC o ers free online education to all members to help the individual maximize their potential and the member company maximize its profi t.

WHEN YOU INVEST AND ENGAGE, AICC DELIVERS SUCCESS.

A Year to Remember

It has been an exciting year as your AICC chairman and one I will not soon forget. A bit of a pandemic-related shift created an early window for me, as SuperCorr was my kickoff last August, and what a successful start it was! The Orlando, Florida, conference was very well attended, and many of us were ready to move beyond the challenges and get back to meeting in person. AICC’s staff of professionals works tirelessly alongside your board of volunteers to provide compelling content mixed with social interaction, and this event delivered.

On the heels of that meeting, I found myself in California for the AICC West Coast golf outing, which has been a meeting staple for quite some time, and it was not overhyped. I found myself back at the hotel that evening at a tableful of Associate members where several hours of laughing and camaraderie were had, making a memorable experience for sure.

A quick stop in Toronto for the AICC Canada Holiday Party did not disappoint. That group is an incredibly strong presence for the independent in Canada—and they’re some of my favorite boxmakers to boot. We also attended the International Corrugated Packaging Foundation fundraiser in New York and enjoyed the experience immensely alongside AICC and Fibre Box Association members alike.

A working winter board meeting takes place every January, at which much of the strategic heavy lifting is completed—one of my favorite exercises. Our committed volunteers, alongside a dedicated team of true AICC professionals, unpack our most critical value propositions to challenge our assumptions and continue to improve upon AICC messaging and product offerings that best benefit our membership.

A stop in Kansas City, Missouri, for the AICC Packaging Xperience program provided two days of excellent presentations and content, with AICC again exceeding expectations to provide value to its membership.

The Spring Meeting in Palm Desert, California, brought us warm weather and more attendance records. Capping off the trip with a presentation by Capt. Richard Phillips made this a special event. May began with the Southeast Summit and was followed by the Midwest Summit with the Chicago TAPPI tabletop event. While I am writing, the Midwest golf outing and Northeast Summit are on the calendar and expected to be five-star events, as well. My time as your chairman will conclude at Corrugated Week in San Antonio, where I am looking forward to the passing of the torch to Chairwoman Jana Harris.

There was of course much that I regrettably could not attend, like the Mexico meeting and the Canada golf outing—not for a lack of trying, however! I have been extremely fortunate to be a participant in this industry. It is all about the people. Our suppliers, competitors, peers, partners, and all related participants are what makes this such a special industry. Thank you for your support, your kind words, and your friendship. Many thanks to my advisors, Al Hoodwin of Michigan City Paper Box, Joe Palmeri of Jamestown Container, and Joe Morelli of Houston Patterson. Many thanks to AICC President Mike D’Angelo and the entire AICC team. You make this look so turnkey—you are all true professionals. My gratitude to the Akers/Akey family for their support during my tenure, as well.

It has truly been an honor to be your chairman.

Gene Marino Executive Vice President, Akers Packaging Service Group Chairman, AICC

The Swinging Economic Pendulum

BY DICK STORAT

The rapid onset and global spread of the COVID-19 virus gave rise to immediate and unprecedented actions that still are forcing the economic pendulum to swing in larger arcs today, some 2½ years later. Th e economic responses to the virtual shutdown in domestic and global economic activity near the end of the fi rst quarter of 2020 started a chain reaction of large changes in economic activity, the likes of which have not been felt in recent history.

Eff orts to halt the virus’s spread led to immediate and massive job layoff s. During February and March 2020, 22 million jobs were lost as businesses either shut down completely or cut back operations severely. Th e chart below shows monthly changes in employment since January 2008, the beginning of the Great Recession. It took two full years for employment to decline about as much as it did in just two months at the onset of the coronavirus pandemic. Th en followed a long, slow recovery that took another four years for employment to reach the level at the start of the Great Recession. At that point, the economy continued a long-term trend of adding jobs at a steady rate of just under 200,000 jobs per month, a period during which supply and demand were in relative balance and infl ation remained controlled at under 2% per year, while economic activity grew steadily but slowly.

Th e sudden loss of income led the United States and other economies around the world to provide immediate fi scal stimulus, most often as cash deposited in consumers’ bank accounts to prevent consumer spending from plummeting. Th at infusion of cash accomplished what was intended and more. GDP declined by 5.0% in the fi rst quarter and by 31.4% in the second quarter (annualized percent change). Consumers responded by spending much of their cash infusion to yield a 33.4% recovery in the third quarter and 4.3% growth in the fourth quarter, holding the economic downturn to 3.4% for 2020. Strong consumer spending led to an extremely robust 5.7% GDP growth in 2021, as employment returned to 90% of pre-COVID-19 employment by the end of last year, restoring as many jobs in two years as had been gained during six years following the Great Recession. Th is created situations in which consumer demand grew faster and more strongly than the supply of goods and labor could keep up with.

Not only was demand rising at a faster level, but the pandemic caused serious disruptions of the global supply chain. Even though infl ation-adjusted consumer spending reached 9.5% in 2021, supply disruptions led to commodity price increases, then to wage infl ation. Even with off ers of higher wages, manufacturers could not fi nd enough employees. During the pandemic, people’s attitudes toward employment shifted, leading many workers in the U.S. and abroad to remain out of the workforce.

All major economies provided some stimulus to support unemployment. As the chart at the top of p. 6 shows, the global average amounted to about 7% of GDP. However, none were nearly as generous with discretionary easing as the U.S., where the federal government disbursed assistance costing close to 13% of GDP, more than double the stimulus in China or the European Union, according to Goldman Sachs.

Th e result of this large pendulum swing in fi scal easing and a large negative swing of the pendulum tracking supply chain disruptions created an artifi cial shortage of goods. So, prices did indeed rise. Infl ation is now running at levels not seen in more than a generation, causing consumers to suff er the erosive eff ects of

Cumulative Employment Change Since Jan. 2008

20,000

Thousands, Seasonally Adjusted

15,000

10,000

5,000

(5,000)

(10,000) January '08 '09 '10 '11 '12 '13 '14 '15 '16 '17 '18 '19 '20 '21 '22

Source: BLS