USDA NASS publishes production in hundredweight (cwt). Dividing by the net weight USDA Market News assigns to each container gives a first estimate of how many shipping containers a crop consumes. Florida and Georgia are the two Southeast states NASS reports individually for these crops.
| Crop (2025) | Florida production | Georgia production | FL + GA share of U.S. | Container equivalents, FL + GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sweet corn, fresh market | 5,600.4 thousand cwt (560 million lb) | 3,836.0 thousand cwt (384 million lb) | 62.5 % of 15,105.3 thousand cwt | ≈ 22.5 million containers at 42 lb |
| Snap beans, all uses | 1,929.3 thousand cwt from 32,700 acres harvested | 430.7 thousand cwt from 7,300 acres harvested | 20.3 % of 11,638.3 thousand cwt | ≈ 7.9 million bushels at 30 lb |
| Cabbage, all uses | 2,392.5 thousand cwt from 5,500 acres harvested | 1,984.5 thousand cwt from 4,900 acres harvested | 19.9 % of 22,043.0 thousand cwt | ≈ 8.8 million containers at 50 lb |
Source: USDA NASS, Vegetables 2025 Summary (February 2026). Sweet corn is the fresh-market utilized production; snap beans and cabbage are total production for all uses, so the container figure is an upper bound because part of the crop is processed or sold in bulk bins. Container equivalents are our arithmetic: pounds divided by the USDA AMS conversion weight (42 lb sweet corn, 30 lb green beans, 50 lb cabbage). In 2024, Florida's fresh sweet corn was 5,833.5 thousand cwt and Georgia's 3,109.4 thousand cwt.
The box is chosen by the cooling method, not the other way round. The storage recommendations below are from the UC Davis Postharvest Research and Extension Center produce fact sheets.
| Crop | Optimum temperature | Relative humidity | Expected life | Cooling and water contact | What it means for the box |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sweet corn | 0–1.5 °C (32–34 °F); freezing injury starts at −0.6 °C (31 °F) | 95–98 % | Standard types only a few days, maximum 7 days including transit; supersweet up to 21 days at 0 °C | Generally hydrocooled, then packed with ice and/or top-iced | Must pass water freely in the hydrocooler, hold wet ice and keep stacking strength when soaked |
| Snap (green) beans | 5–7.5 °C (41–45 °F); chilling symptoms after about 2 days at 1 °C or 4 days at 2.5 °C | 95–100 % | 8–12 days | No ice. Surface decay if free moisture stays on the pods above 7.5 °C | Water tolerant for hydrocooling, with drainage and venting; no ice load |
| Cabbage | 0 °C (32 °F); freeze damage below −0.9 °C (30.4 °F) | > 95 % | Early crop 3–6 weeks; late cultivars up to 6 months | Mostly room cooled; ethylene sensitive | Heavy 50 lb unit: compression strength in humid cold rooms matters more than ice resistance |
| Broccoli | 0 °C (32 °F) | > 95 % | At least 1 month at 0 °C; about 14 days at 5 °C; about 5 days at 10 °C | Traditionally liquid-ice slurry into field-packed waxed cartons; hydrocooling and forced air also effective | Must hold a water-ice slurry and drain meltwater; see our broccoli boxes guide |
UC Davis also notes that water left on broccoli after the ice melts may increase decay and that icing is "generally considered unnecessary with current temperature management capabilities". NC State Extension's hydrocooling bulletin (AG-414-04) gives a worked example in which sweet corn with an 85 °F cob temperature immersed in 35 °F water takes 28 minutes to cool to 55 °F, and notes that snap beans cool much faster than sweet corn in water of the same temperature.
| Crop | Pack as quoted by USDA Market News | USDA AMS conversion weight | Other published weights |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sweet corn | Wirebound crates, 4–4½ dozen (also 4½–5 dozen and 5 dozen in some markets); cartons, 4 dozen minimum | 42 lb per carton or crate | Wirebound crates 42–50 lb (University of Georgia Extension); wirebound crates and waxed cartons of 4½–5 dozen ears (WFLO Commodity Storage Manual) |
| Green beans (round green type) | 1 1/9 bushel cartons/crates (Florida shipping points) | 30 lb per bushel basket, carton or crate | 26–31 lb per bushel crate, basket or box and 15 lb per ½ bushel box (Produce Pack Guide); 28–30 lb per bushel (University of Georgia Extension) |
| Cabbage (round green type) | 1¾ bushel crates and 50 lb cartons | 50 lb per carton, crate or sack | 45–50 lb in 1¾ or 1⅞ bushel waxed cabbage containers, bags or boxes (Produce Pack Guide) |
| Broccoli | Cartons or crates, bunched 14s–18s; crown cut, loose | 23 lb bunched 14s–18s; 20 lb crown cut | 10 to 18 bunches in a 1 1/9 bushel box at 23 lb (Produce Pack Guide) |
Market News descriptions: Orlando Shipping Point Vegetables Prices (OR_FV120), May 6, 2026, for wirebound crates of sweet corn, 1 1/9 bushel bean cartons/crates and cabbage packs; dozen counts and the footnote "1 CTN or CRT = 42 pounds" from USDA Market News sweet corn reports archived by the University of Florida (2005 and 2009). Conversion weights: USDA AMS, Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Shipments, container approximate net weights. Ear counts for RPCs are set by each retailer programme and pooler, so confirm them with your buyer.
NC State Extension puts the requirement in one sentence: because melting ice wets both produce and package, "waxed cartons, wire bound crates, or some of the newer plastic cartons will be required." The four options behave differently in the hydrocooler, on the pallet and at the end of their life.
| Property | Wirebound wooden crate | Waxed corrugated carton | RPC (rented, pooled) | PP corrugated plastic box |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water and ice | Unaffected; open slats | Water resistant while the wax film is intact | Unaffected | Polypropylene does not absorb water |
| Hydrocooling | Listed by NC State as well suited: large open area lets water through | Used successfully, but cartons with solid tops are "particularly difficult to cool" (NC State) | Open vented walls | Vents and base drains are die-cut to your pattern; specify them for your hydrocooler |
| Ownership | Bought, one way | Bought, one way | Rented per trip from a pooler; see RPC rental vs buying | Bought; reused on your own loop or shipped one way |
| Empty storage and freight | Delivered flat, assembled at the shed | Delivered flat | Folded by the pooler | Shipped flat, folds flat again for return |
| Branding | Stencil or label | Printed | Pooler's container; label only | Printed with brand, lot and traceability data |
| End of life | Wood and wire, not accepted in paper recycling | Hard to recycle: wax does not mix with pulping water; typically landfilled or composted | Returned to the pool, reground by the pooler | Single-material polypropylene; recyclable where PP is collected, confirm locally |
| Retailer rating, 0–10 (UF/IFAS survey, 2001) | 4.4 | 6.6 (corrugated boxes) | 7.3 | Not in the survey |
The University of Florida survey (EDIS FE378, published 2003) asked retailers about sweet corn containers: nearly all had received corn in wirebound crates, about three-quarters in corrugated boxes, and retailers expected wirebound use to fall from about 70 % to 24 % of their supply. The survey is two decades old and predates PP corrugated boxes in this trade; we cite it for direction, not as current market share. The rows on PP corrugated boxes describe the material and our own product; route performance has to be confirmed by trial.
Conventional wax-saturated cartons work in ice, and that is why broccoli, sweet corn and greens have used them for decades. Their weakness is after delivery.
| Fact | Figure | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Wax-coated share of U.S. corrugated volume | Just below 3 % in 2013, down from 5 % in 2002 | Corrugated Packaging Alliance study, reported by ProFood World, November 25, 2014 |
| Boxes shipped with recyclable wax-alternative coatings | 9.9 billion sq ft in 2013, up from 1.3 billion sq ft in 2002 | Same |
| Wax-coated share of old corrugated from the produce industry | Up to 20 % | Recycling Today, October 23, 2003 (mill source quoted) |
| Why mills reject it | Wax "does not intermingle with the water used to make pulp"; waxed old corrugated is "typically either landfilled or used for lower-value products such as compost" | Recycling Today, October 23, 2003 |
So a packer who wants out of wax has three routes: a recyclable wax-alternative coated carton (still one way, still paper in water), an RPC programme (if the retailer runs one), or a PP corrugated plastic box. We compare the first and third in detail, with a cost-per-trip model you can fill in yourself, in waxed boxes vs corrugated plastic.
These are starting points for a sample request, taken from our published corrugated plastic thickness guide (2–10 mm sheet) and PP corrugated box range. They are not test results for your route; confirm every one with samples on your own line.
| Crop and pack | Net load to design for | Sheet to sample first | Features to specify |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sweet corn, 4–4½ dozen ears, hydrocooled and iced | 42–50 lb of corn plus ice | 5 mm (900–1,200 g/m²) | Same inside dimensions as your current crate so the pallet pattern and hydrocooler conveyor do not change; side vents and base drains; hand holes |
| Green beans, bushel or 1 1/9 bushel | 26–31 lb, no ice | 4 mm (650–1,000 g/m²) | Venting for forced air or hydrocooling, base drains so no free water stays on the pods |
| Cabbage, 50 lb | 45–50 lb, tall stacks | 5 mm (900–1,200 g/m²) | Vertical flutes in the load direction, reinforced corners, lid or open top to match your stack |
| Broccoli, 14s–18s or crown cut, iced | 20–23 lb plus ice | 4 mm; details in the broccoli boxes guide | Base drain slots, slurry-ice fill openings |
Grammage ranges per thickness are those published in our thickness guide. Material is food-contact polypropylene; ask for the declaration that matches the finished box. Boxes are printable and ship flat. For field-to-shed loops, the per-trip arithmetic is in the harvest bins cost guide.
U.S. importers, note: boxes for U.S. buyers are made in our Philippine plants. 0% U.S. AD/CVD — not 0% import duty; 12.5% Section 301 (since Jul 24, 2026) + normal HTSUS duty, confirm with your broker. Details in PP boxes from the Philippines.
| Tell the supplier | Ask the supplier for, in writing | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Crop, count or net weight, and ice weight per box | Sheet thickness in mm and grammage in g/m² | Thickness alone does not define strength |
| Cooling method: hydrocooler, slurry ice, top ice, forced air | Vent and drain drawing | Water has to get in and out at your line speed |
| Inside dimensions of the current crate or carton and pallet pattern | Stacking load test on a wet, loaded sample | Keeps the pallet and trailer count you already ship |
| One way or returnable; number of trips expected | Closure type, fold-flat height, boxes per pallet delivered flat | Return freight decides the cost per trip |
| Print: brand, pack style, lot and traceability fields | Food-contact declaration for the finished box; physical samples before the order | Buyer audits ask for it |
Fuxing Group manufactures PP corrugated plastic boxes in 2–10 mm sheet, printed to your design and shipped flat, with boxes for U.S. buyers made in the Philippines. Send your crop, net weight, cooling method and current box dimensions to request a quote and free samples.
Request a quote / free samples Email jacky@fuxinggroup.cn