Kickstart: Now we're running out of boxes?

You all know that there's a shortage of resin out there, and that the resins that are available are expensive.

Frank Esposito's latest update on the resin situation from plants hit by February's storm and cold in Texas notes that petrochemical facilities are reopening, but are not at full production yet.

An interesting side note to all of the resin issues, however, is about a different shortage out there, this one impacting shipping containers. International Paper of Memphis has told its customers that adhesives for its boxes are in short supply, which may slow production.

Ineos Styrolution has told its customers it will use different sized boxes to ship materials, and resin distributor M. Holland Co. — with a major shipping center in Coal City, Ill., owned and operated by G&D Trucking — is warning customers that new boxes may not be stackable.

"In the interest of safety, we urge clients and our fulfillment partners to notify anyone involved in logistics operations to be mindful of the shortage and careful to heed warning labels that may appear on resin containers," M. Holland officials added.

Anyone who's attended an event at Chicago's McCormick Center, like NPE prior to 2012, knows it's a huge space with a complex operating structure. So the cancellation of conventions and trade shows due to COVID-19 has put a big hurt on the owners, Metropolitan Pier & Exposition Authority.

The convention center has lost 223 events to COVID cancellations so far, business that would have generated some $3 billion in local economic impact, MPEA CEO Larita Clark told our sister paper Crain's Chicago Business.
MPEA is asking for $55 million in state money this year to help shore up its budget and entice conventions and trade shows once the pandemic ends.

First it was Skittles, now KitKat bars are rolling out more sustainable flexible packaging.

Packaging giant Amcor Ltd. and LyondellBasell Industries are part of a coalition working with KitKat maker Nestle to produce Australia's "first soft plastic food wrapper made with recycled content."

"Soft plastics create a strong consumer-friendly packaging solution with great barrier properties and are lightweight and cost-efficient," said Simon Roy, vice president and general manager for Amcor Flexibles in Australia and New Zealand, in a news release. "This collaboration shows how soft plastics can be part of the circular economy when stakeholders across the entire value chain work together and is a fantastic outcome for the environment and our communities."