A slump in demand for cardboard packaging is ringing alarm bells across the United States. Far more than just a shipping material, corrugated cardboard is a barometer of consumer activity and industrial health. When fewer boxes are being made and shipped, it usually signals that households are spending less, businesses are pulling back, and economic momentum is slowing. Cardboard boxes as an economic indicator Cardboard boxes may seem ordinary, but they move almost everything in the modern economy—fro ...