A national milk-carton shortage sours America’s dairy industry

“THEY KEPT saying, ‘oh, it’s going to be coming’,” remembers Scott Stoner of Cream-O-Land, a dairy supplier. It was early September, just as many schools in America’s north-east were reopening after the summer break. He had not received deliveries of milk cartons. He quickly used up all his stock.Cream-O-Land and many other dairy processors have run out of, or have a severe shortage of, half-pint (237ml) and 4oz cartons. Milk itself is not lacking. The problem is with the size of cartons used by care homes, hospitals, prisons, cruise ships and schools.