PACKAGINGFOR RESEARCH · DATA NOTE 02
U.S. Rigid Box Imports by Country in 2025
In 2025, the United States imported approximately $138.7 million of goods classified under HTS 4819504040, rigid boxes and cartons. China accounted for 49.83% of that customs value and Vietnam accounted for another 23.41%.
In 2025, China accounted for 49.83% of U.S. customs value classified under HTS 4819504040, rigid boxes and cartons. Vietnam accounted for another 23.41%, bringing their combined share to 73.24%. The five largest countries of origin together accounted for 86.64%. These figures measure country of origin within a customs classification. They do not measure supplier market share or the size of the U.S. custom rigid-box market.
Key findings
- 2025 customs value: $138.7 million.
- China: 49.83%; Vietnam: 23.41%.
- China and Vietnam combined: 73.24%.
- Top five origins: 86.64%; other origins: 13.36%.
- Country-origin HHI: 3,119.
2025 import baseline
HTS 4819504040 is the official customs classification used for rigid boxes and cartons. The $138,740,589 recorded in 2025 is customs value within that classification, not a U.S. market-size estimate, domestic consumption measure, or product-specific price. The code does not identify whether a shipment was custom, luxury, premium, gift, magnetic-closure, cosmetic, branded or retail packaging, nor does it identify the supplier or buyer industry.
Top countries of origin
| Rank | Country of origin | Share of 2025 customs value |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | China | 49.83% |
| 2 | Vietnam | 23.41% |
| 3 | Cambodia | 7.77% |
| 4 | Philippines | 2.87% |
| 5 | Indonesia | 2.76% |
| — | Other origins | 13.36% |
Country concentration is not supplier concentration
China: 49.83% · China + Vietnam: 73.24% · Top five origins: 86.64% · All other origins: 13.36% · HHI: 3,119.
The calculated HHI of 3,119 is a descriptive measure of concentration at the country-of-origin level. It does not measure supplier concentration, ownership concentration or antitrust market structure. The country shares identify where customs value was attributed, not how many suppliers operated there or whether any supplier can meet a specific packaging requirement.
Vessel transportation context
Vessel movements represented 89.40% of validated 2025 general-import customs value for this classification. That is a transport-value share in the disclosed Census data. It does not establish freight cost, transit time, inventory cost, reliability or landed cost for a particular buyer.
What this classification does and does not measure
HTS 4819504040 measures goods entered under the official U.S. customs classification for rigid boxes and cartons. It does not identify custom, luxury, gift, magnetic-closure, cosmetic, premium, branded or retail end use. It also does not identify an individual supplier, buyer industry, board specification, finish, dimensions or quotation. Those details belong to transaction records and supplier qualification, not the customs classification.
What packaging buyers can take from the data
Use country-origin concentration as sourcing context, not supplier-quality evidence. Compare suppliers against the same packaging specification and review origin, tariff treatment, transport and documentation separately. Customs statistics cannot replace samples, supplier qualification, commercial terms or quotations. Buyers sourcing custom rigid boxes still need product-specific specifications, quotations and supplier qualification; these customs statistics provide country-level context rather than product-level pricing.
Reading the country structure
The first two origins account for most of the recorded customs value in this category: China represented 49.83% and Vietnam represented 23.41%. Cambodia, the Philippines and Indonesia followed at 7.77%, 2.87% and 2.76%, while all other origins together accounted for 13.36%. This pattern is useful because it makes the country distribution visible without converting it into a claim about commercial suppliers.
Country of origin and supplier structure are different layers of evidence. Customs records do not identify the number of suppliers in a country, their ownership, factory capability, production capacity, quality system, minimum order quantity, lead time or commercial relationship with a buyer. A high customs-value share can include many suppliers, and a smaller country share does not reveal how many relevant producers operate there. The HHI of 3,119 is therefore only a second descriptive measure of country-of-origin concentration under HTS 4819504040.
Using the data in a sourcing review
Buyers can use the country pattern to frame diligence questions rather than to select a country or supplier. It can support discussion of origin diversification, country-specific tariff review, transport-route planning and documentation handoffs. Each question still needs transaction-specific evidence. A buyer should compare suppliers using the same approved packaging specification, quantities, delivery terms and quality requirements. Customs statistics cannot substitute for qualification, samples, quotations or current commercial terms.
The vessel share adds similarly bounded context. The 89.40% figure describes the share of validated 2025 general-import customs value associated with vessel transportation. It does not establish freight cost, transit time, inventory cost, reliability or landed cost for a particular order. Transport decisions require current routes, carrier terms, shipment dimensions and the buyer’s operating assumptions.
Why the classification boundary matters
HTS 4819504040 is a customs classification for rigid boxes and cartons, not a complete description of a packaging project. It does not indicate the package’s material specification, closure system, print treatment, insert, finish, use environment or final distribution route. The same customs category can include goods with different commercial attributes. This is why the country shares should remain connected to the official classification name whenever they are quoted.
The classification also does not measure all boxes used in the United States. It records imported goods entered under the stated customs code. It does not add domestic output, establish the amount bought by U.S. brands, or identify a buyer’s end market. Using the $138.7 million customs-value observation as a market estimate would mix an import record with a different commercial question.
Methodology detail
The 2025 world total is the denominator for each country share. Each displayed share is the applicable country’s recorded customs value divided by that world customs value for the same HTS classification and calendar year. The top-five share adds China, Vietnam, Cambodia, the Philippines and Indonesia; Other is the remainder after those five shares. The HHI squares the country shares and sums them on a 0–10,000 scale. These calculations describe the published country mix only.
The evidence cutoff is August 21, 2026. The note does not add later trade releases or recalculate the underlying record. Its purpose is a bounded answer to where the recorded 2025 customs value came from, while leaving transaction decisions to current supplier and buyer evidence.
For internal review, it is useful to preserve the date, classification and measure beside every chart or table. That practice prevents a country-origin observation from being reused as a statement about supplier share, quality or a general packaging category. It also lets a sourcing team distinguish what the public record can answer from what must be confirmed directly with a qualified supplier. If the proposed package changes, the specification and commercial comparison should change with it; the customs series does not make those decisions automatically comparable.
Likewise, a country list should not be read as a recommendation. The list records the largest origins by customs value in the validated 2025 data. It does not rank service, engineering, performance, documentation or commercial fit. Those factors require a buyer-specific process and contemporaneous evidence.
Methodology and sources
This note uses validated U.S. Census Bureau merchandise-trade observations available through the August 21, 2026 evidence cutoff. It covers 2025 U.S. imports for consumption under HTS 4819504040. Country shares are partner customs value divided by world customs value for the same classification. Top-five share is the sum of the five disclosed country shares; Other is the remainder. HHI is the sum of squared country shares multiplied by 10,000. See U.S. Census Merchandise Trade Imports / USA Trade Online.
Related research
See the full U.S. Paper Packaging Sourcing in 2026 report, the Paper Packaging Research & Industry Data hub, and U.S. Corrugated Carton Imports: H1 2026 vs H1 2025, and U.S. Rigid Paperboard Box Manufacturing: What the 2022 Economic Census Shows.