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Packaging (Paper & Board) Market Report 2008
Key Note Publications Ltd, Jan 2008, Pages: 103
Paper and board packaging remains the largest sector of the UK packaging market, but the industry has experienced difficult trading conditions over the past 5 years. In 2006, volume consumption of paper and board packaging was 4.06 million tonnes — a decline of 3.8% since 2002.
Increased foreign competition, higher energy, material and transportation costs, and the implementation of the EU Packaging and Packaging Waste Directive, which makes packaging manufacturers largely responsible for the recovery and recycling of used packaging, are placing increasing pressure on domestic manufacturers. Overseas producers are not subject to such demanding conditions; those in Asia, in particular, have the benefit of lower labour costs and less stringent environmental legislation.
In response to these pressures, the past 2 years have seen some companies withdraw their UK operations and move production to Asia or Eastern Europe. However, most UK-based manufacturers have instead implemented cost-reduction policies (plant closures and operational consolidation), resulting in job losses. This has not caused an overall reduction in output, because most manufacturers have switched production to other sites and increased their productivity. Despite 50 carton-plant closures and the removal of 191,000 tonnes of capacity over the past 5 years, concern remains about overcapacity in the industry, as domestic demand is static.
Paralleling the need to reduce costs is a need for innovation and product differentiation in the UK, as customers become ever more demanding and as consumer lifestyles change. Packaging is becoming more complex and advanced as brand owners strive to add value to their products, using packaging as much more than simply a means of protecting the goods. This is creating new challenges for packaging manufacturers. With the integration of technologies such as RFID (radio-frequency identification) and intelligent substrates, together with increasing retailer demands, the need to keep up to speed on the latest developments has never been more important.
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