On Tuesday morning I had to alter my running schedule because of rain showers.  So, I took to our indoor treadmill to get my daily exercise and had a nice run while watching the Fox Business Stuart Varney morning show.

One of the short business news stories that came on was that they believed you would see McDonald’s stock “pop” a little on Tuesday because they were introducing meal items and pricing to draw the low-budget consumer in for “Back-to-School” meals.  The hosts of the program also made a point to let viewers know that McDonald’s marketing to the “low-budget” clientele was very different from most products that seem to market to the more affluent audience with more disposable incomes.

I had also just read an article that morning about a potential decline of white collar workers and a potential gain of blue collar workers in the U.S.  because of the expected reshoring of American manufacturing jobs and the expected increase of artificial intelligence in white-collar business use.  That combination made me wonder about the traditional (casketed burial) markets that over the years have been overtaken by cremation choices by consumers.

I grew up in a small community in rural America and remember my father’s words when a new owner took ownership of the other funeral home in town.  That owner seemed to be in the newspaper all the time and was quick to become an active member of the Chamber of Commerce.  My dad made the comment to me at the time when I was in middle school and I still remember it to this day, “Let him wine and dine those people all he wants.  We will be happy taking care of the farmers and blue collar workers and there is a lot more of them”.

Now, my dad was an “old shoe” if there ever was one.  He would not know what a “Cesare Attolini brand” suit was, much less ever wear one.  He once told me that he drove an old American Motors Rambler car because “it was all he needed”.  Yet, he took care of any family that called our funeral home with incredible care, compassion, and credit — and most of our clients were the farm families and the blue-collar worker families that sometimes needed all of those attributes.

My dad’s 1966 “Basic White” four-door American Motors Rambler

I took his quotes and actions to heart and have always believed that “Farm families and blue-collar workers” were the backbone of traditional funeral service.  Of course, in our community they were also the back-bone of the churches and school boards . . . . . . and they believed in the traditions and mores of traditional funeral services.

Here’s an interesting graphic (below) that shows the manufacturing losses in America since what I would call the “Globalization of Manufacturing”.  Maybe it is just coincidental, but the dates of loss of these blue-collar workers somewhat corresponds with the percentage increases in cremation related services in America.

This next graphic (below) shows that America’s Middle Income (Blue-Collar) people have dropped from having an aggregate of 62% of the income in 1970 to only 43% of the income today.  And, as you can see Upper Income Americans now control about 48% of all income — up from about 29% in 1970.  And, the Lower Income tier has stayed relatively stable over the past 50 years.

So, my historic take is, the backbone of traditional funeral service was making, in relative terms, less money while the cost of traditional funeral services was going up.  It should be no surprise that low-cost cremation demand also went up over those years.  I don’t think it should come as any surprise that one traditional funeral home company that has catered to the “cost-conscious” traditional funeral consumer over the years, Newcomer Funeral Group, has seemingly done very well by doing so.

I was also moved during this exercise to find out what do companies appeal to when they “chase the affluent consumer” audience?  I found this short article and lengthier white-paper from Mastercard titled “Reaching new heights:  Understanding the nuances and potential of affluent consumers in a changing market”.

Tom Anderson
Funeral Director Daily

I didn’t read the white-paper but did notice one of the nuances of affluent consumers is that  the affluent consumer likes “new and innovative products”.  The article goes on to state “This influential audience presents unparalleled opportunities for brands ready to adapt and innovate.”

When I go back in history and look at the rise in cremation I would argue that cremation in America was “innovative” in the 1960’s and 1970’s which may be one reason it was adopted by the affluent early on and that the relative financial strength loss of the middle income in the years following (coupled with the increased prices of traditional funerals) both had something to do with the increased level of cremation over the past 4-5 decades.

While many traditional funeral homes fought cremation, there were some really innovative firms that saw the “cremation innovation” and went full-scale into the process.  Many even changed their brand by taking out the words “funeral home” and inserting “cremation”.  Over time, some of the firms that saw the wave and re-branded are some of the largest volume firms in the country today.

Thinking about the future —  If these hypotheses are in any way somewhat correct one would suggest that a company with an innovative Death Care product, such as alkaline hydroysis or natural organic reduction should be looking for the “early adopters” among the affluent members of society.

With Mastercard’s theory that the affluent “like innovation” one would suggest that innovative Death Care companies, and this would include after-market cremation products like Better Place Forests and Parting Stone, would find the most success in affluent zip-code areas.

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For over a year and a half Funeral Director Daily has followed the application process of the Evans Funeral Chapel in trying to locate and build a new crematory in the White Marsh area of Baltimore (MD) County.  It now appears, because of a zoning change for the land in question, that the ability to place a crematory in that location will not be allowed.

Almost immediately upon the first public hearings for this proposal, according to this article,  “. . .residents of White Marsh have remained highly opposed to the idea of a crematory operating within hundreds of feet from their homes.  An online petition opposing the Evans Crematory gathered hundreds of signatures. Momentum continued into 2024, when hundreds of yard signs were on display on front yards throughout the White Marsh area.”

There has been plot twists and turns since the original application, but it now appears that the zoning rule change may stop the construction.

Tom Anderson
Funeral Director Daily

Funeral Director Daily take:  This type of decision following an application process for a new crematory in a locale is not uncommon.  As I research articles for Funeral Director Daily I see many conflicts about potential new crematories facing neighborhood group objections.

In that context one has to ask themselves “Where will new crematories be built? or “Do we presently have enough crematories for present and future use?’

In the September 2024 issue of The Director, published by the National Funeral Directors Association (NFDA) there is an excellent article about the 2024 NFDA Cremation and Burial Report.  There are a lot of statistics in that article that can be used to see where America may be going on future Death Care dispositions.  Through that report and some information from the Center for Disease Control (CDC), I’ve came up with some questions about the future.

First of all, in 2023, the CDC reported 3.09 million provisional deaths and the NFDA, in the aforementioned article, reported an estimated 1.872 million cremation dispositions.  That’s a cremation percentage of 60.5%.  Furthermore, NFDA reports that there are about 3,400 active crematories in the United States — so that is an average of 550 cremations per crematory.  Obviously, that is an average. . .and depending on the popuation density that they are located in, some do more cremations and some do less.

Jumping ahead to 2040, data from the NFDA article estimates over 3.7 million American deaths in that year with an estimate of over 2.9 million cremations.  That’s a cremation percentage of almost 80% and if America contained the same number of crematories as today,  it would mean an average of 869 cremations per crematory.

So, with the consumer’s continuing growing choice for cremation on one hand and the “Not in my back yard” attitude of many on the other hand, will America have enough crematories for this expected upsurge in the raw number of cremations?

Even with the difficulty in getting new crematories built, I think the answer is yes. . . Here’s some of my reasoning:

• New crematories are getting better, technology speaking, every day.  It’s my guess that process time and emission controls will be better and better.  These crematories will eventually replace older ones in the locations that they are already in use.

• With decreased process time of new crematories, doing 869 cremations (on average) per year would equal 2.38 cremations per day per crematory.  That’s doable. . even with today’s crematories

• There will be new crematories built. . . . .most likely there will be challenges with many of these if they are planned to be located in a residential neighborhood.  However, I think many funeral homes will not want to challenge neighborhoods (and anger potential clientele) and will locate new crematories in more industrially-zoned areas.

• I’m not so sure that we will get to a 80% flame-cremation rate by 2040.  We may never get there if water-based alkaline hydrolysis and Natural Organic Reduction (NOR) trend up in the Death Care choices of consumers.

I’m guessing that there will be challenges to build or maintain in certain locales in the future. . . but, in those locales transportation will be available to bring those wanting to be flame-cremated to facilities where that is done.

At the end of the day, my hunch is that there will be no shortage of crematories come 2040 for both the consumer who wants to be flame-cremated and the Death Care companies that want to offer cremation.  The location of those crematories, however, may not be as convenient to funeral home operations as they are today as the locales of the operating crematories may be moved out to less residential industrial areas.

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To Love and to Serve: The Funeral Director’s Dilemma

Virtual Funeral Professionals Peer Support Meeting in March

WHEELING, IL— A funeral professional may be called upon as an event planner, a chauffeur, a makeup artist, an advisor on grief and accounting, and much more – wearing many hats during working hours. A funeral professional may also be a spouse, partner, companion, and parent. Finding time to wear all those additional hats can mean stress and strife in addition to love and joy. 

This month’s virtual Funeral Professionals Peer Support Meeting focuses on the challenges of a life dedicated to both service to others and love of a partner. Join the conversation Tuesday, March 19, 2024 at 8pm ET / 7pm CT / 5pm PT.

It can be hard to have a successful personal life when your professional life depends on 24/7-availability. On March 19, Dwight EA Thompson facilitates a discussion on the unique challenges funeral professionals face to strike a balance. Prior to becoming a therapist specializing in couples counseling, Dwight spent 12 years as a funeral director and embalmer and understands the particular needs of a funeral professional in a relationship. Dwight brings his unique perspective to the March peer support meeting to talk about emotional tolerance and bonding between funeral professionals and their partners. That’s why, special to this meeting, partners are invited to join their funeral professional and participate in the conversation.

“I think people who grow up in the environment understand it, or at least have a special resilience to it,” offers Dwight. “It can often be an alien experience however for a partner who doesn’t—or hasn’t had that experience. There is no emotional tolerance for this type of life, where endured absences define a large part of life.” So, bring your partner and take some time to connect over this conversation.

Take time to talk to your fellow funeral professionals who share your experience balancing date-nights with on-call schedules. Invite your partner and join Dwight for funeral professional peer support on Tuesday, March 19, 2024 at 8pm ET / 7pm CT / 5pm PT via Zoom link at cremationassociation.org/peersupport. No registration is required, simply follow the link to join.

About Funeral Professionals Peer Support

Funeral Professionals Peer Support Group is committed to providing support, healing, education and knowledge to funeral professionals. They promote wholeness and wellness by uniting funeral sector professionals through a Canada-wide network of regional organizations offering support, information and resources within their community. 

About CANA

Founded in 1913, the Cremation Association of North America (CANA) is an international organization of over 3,700 members, composed of funeral homes, cemeteries, crematories, industry suppliers, and consultants. CANA members believe that cremation is preparation for memorialization.