Packaging, Paper & Forest Products covers containerboard and boxes, cans, plastic packaging, labels, pulp and wood products. MoatScope covers 30 companies here. None has a wide moat; 13 have a narrow moat and 17 none.
How the industry makes money
Packaging makers earn on converting raw materials into containers for food, drinks and shipped goods. Mill capacity, raw-material costs and customer contracts decide margins.
Where the moats are
Switching costs, cost advantages and efficient scale each appear in eight or nine of the 13 moat-rated companies: integrated mills and plants located near customers are hard to replace.
The narrow-moat group includes Smurfit Westrock, Packaging Corporation of America, Amcor, Ball, Crown, Avery Dennison and Suzano.
What wears moats down
New capacity pushes down prices, demand follows consumer spending and shipping volumes, and customers shift between packaging materials.
What to watch
- Box and can demand.
- Pulp and paper prices.
- Capacity additions and closures.
Moat ratings and quality scores on this page update as companies report. Price versus fair value for every company in the industry is in the screener.