Wood & Paper Manufacturing worked example

Cartonization Material Cost at 99% board material utilization: a worked example

This scenario runs the cartonization material cost calculation on the strong side: 99% board material utilization, with every other input held at its documented default. A packaging estimator uses it to price folding-carton material before committing to a die.

The inputs for this scenario

  • Cartons Built in the Run: 15,000 cartons (unchanged)
  • Corrugated Board Cost per Carton: 0.28 $/carton (unchanged)
  • Board Material Utilization: 99 % (raised for this scenario; the documented default is 92)
  • Die and Tooling Charge: 700 $ (unchanged)

Working through the calculation

  • Applying the documented formula (Cartonization material cost = cartons x board per carton x utilization% + die and tooling charge) to the inputs above produces each figure below.
  • At this operating point the engine returns 4,858 $ for total cartonization material cost, the number this scenario is built around.
  • At this operating point the engine returns 0.32 $ / piece for cartonization material cost per unit.
  • At this operating point the engine returns 4,158 $ for variable cartonization material cost.
  • At this operating point the engine returns 700 $ for fixed cartonization material cost adder.

How this compares with the baseline

  • Against the tool's baseline example, where board material utilization sits at 92% and the headline result is 4,564 $, this scenario comes in 6.44% above the baseline at 4,858 $.
  • Use it when quoting a corrugated box program, comparing board grades or blank layouts, or auditing material cost on a completed run. Treat this as a target state: the delta against the baseline quantifies what the improvement is worth before you commit to chasing it.

Results at a glance

  • Total cartonization material cost: 4,858 $ (headline result)
  • Cartonization material cost per unit: 0.32 $ / piece
  • Variable cartonization material cost: 4,158 $
  • Fixed cartonization material cost adder: 700 $

Run it with your numbers

  • Every input above is editable in the live Cartonization Material Cost calculator, which recalculates instantly and can be shared with the inputs intact.

Last reviewed 2026-05-12.