The Cardboard Box Economy Is Breaking Down
Summary
The Journal explores the crisis facing Southern pine farmers as declining cardboard demand and cheap foreign pulp crash prices. Hosts Ryan Knudson and Ryan December discuss how this economic shift threatens the livelihoods of multi-generational timber families like Bill Howard’s. With mills closing and pulpwood becoming a financial burden, growers face difficult decisions about replanting or converting land to solar or agriculture.
Topics discussed
Introduction: The surprising decline in cardboard usage
Sponsors: Intuit Credit Karma and Indeed
How pine tree farming and pulpwood economics work
Market collapse: Mill closures and foreign competition
Sponsors: Amazon Health AI and ServiceNow
Case study: Bill Howard's multi-generational timber business
Future outlook: Alternative uses and emotional ties to land
Conclusion and Notre Dame MBA sponsor
Uber Eats back-to-school promotion
Listen ad-free on Castria