Industrial Packaging - Market Share Analysis, Industry Trends & Statistics, Growth Forecasts 2019 - 2029

Key Highlights

• The increasing volume of resources and products being transported across various regions is one of the primary factors that led to the growth of bulk industrial packaging. The industrial packaging market highly depends on global import and export activities. While products such as drums and pails experience huge demand from heavy manufacturing industries, other products, such as material handling containers and intermediate bulk containers (IBCs), include applications in logistics and the short-distance transportation of goods.
• Rigid plastic IBCs are used in food and beverage, pharmaceutical, chemical, paints, inks, and lubricants. North America's Rigid Intermediate Bulk Container Association (RIBCA) fosters the interests of persons, firms, and corporations that manufacture or assemble rigid intermediate bulk containers.
• During a customer event in Heidelberg, Germany, Mauser, an industrial packaging company, recently presented its new skINliner barrier technology. The Mauser skINliner barrier technology combines the advanced barrier performance of multilayer plastic film technology (e.g., against hydrocarbons and/or oxygen) with the logistical and lifecycle benefits of rigid packaging. The new modular packaging design promotes reuse and recyclability.
• Companies are launching new and innovative products in line with the changing demand for sustainable and recyclable industrial packaging. For instance, in May 2022, Berry Global's UK refuse sack business launched a new range of high-strength refuse sacks made from recycled plastics.
• The increase in the utilization of shipping containers drives the market. Thus, companies are collaborating to offer new and innovative products according to the customers' requirements. In April 2022, Novvia Group acquired Southern Container LLC, a fiber, plastic, glass, and metal packaging product distributor. Through this acquisition, Novvia strengthened its Inmark business and its market position.
• Over the last few years, awareness of the harmful effects of plastic usage significantly increased. Many public campaigns and initiatives are taken by governmental authorities, associations, and NGOs to spread this awareness. Thus, plastic packaging consumption significantly declined in the last few years.
• With the increasing demand for food and beverages, the agriculture industry faced many challenges. Supply chain challenges in materials, such as fertilizers, equipment, and transportation of crops, were only one of them. For instance, the global fertilizer market continued to witness challenges to logistical and other economic impacts of COVID-19. However, these impacts are highly uneven across markets, and not all are negative.

Industrial Packaging Market Trends

Food and Beverages Expected to Drive the Market

• The most used industrial packaging for food and beverage industries are drums, IBCs, corrugated boxes, pallets, and sacks. However, the packaging needs to be certified as food-grade. For instance, IBC totes (designed with stainless steel tanks or poly-caged totes) are certified by the DOT/UN and ensure that the packaging does contaminate the food products.
• Drums are widely used in the alcohol industry. Beer is the most-transported alcohol globally. Drums are made of steel, plastics, or fiber. However, steel drums are regarded as the safest by the US Department of Transportation. It is expected to drive further storing and transporting beverages in steel drums.
• The rising production volume of craft beer is expected to increase the demand for steel drums in the market. According to the Brewers Association, the share of craft beer in the total production volume of beer in the United States in 2022 was 13.2%, at par with 13.1% in 2021. It is expected to drive the demand for steel drums.
• This rapid wave of popular interest drove the surge in ecological packaging options. According to Food Dive, 67% of customers globally believe it is critical that the items they buy come in recyclable packaging, with 54% indicating it is a factor they consider when purchasing. These sentiments aren't going away, with a whopping 83% of younger buyers prepared to spend more for products that are packed sustainably.
• Corrugated packaging is mainly used for packaging processed foods, fresh food, produce, and beverages. For many food goods, corrugated packaging is becoming a viable alternative to plastic packaging. Paper packaging, for example, may be created more simply from recycled materials and recycled or composted. According to the most recent Brewers Association figures, there were 9,552 craft brewers in the United States in 2022, up from 6,661 in 2017.

Asia-Pacific Expected to Hold a Significant Market Share

• Over the last few decades, the industrial sector in China, one of the major market shareholders in the Asia-Pacific, witnessed astonishing growth. The sector's growth placed the country among the leading manufacturers and exporters of various goods. According to the National Bureau of Statistics of China, in 2022, the industrial sector contributed 39.9% of the country's GDP.
• Moreover, the adoption of industrial drums in the packaging industry is increasing. The packaging manufacturer is focusing on recycling, downgauging, optimizing pack size, and safety. Industrial drums offer many corporations and companies these features to effectively maintain sustainability initiatives. According to the Industrial Steel Drum Institute (ISDI), steel drums provide safe transport for approximately 50 million metric tons of material worldwide annually.
• Considering the growing demand, several vendors operating in the market are focusing on offering a broad portfolio of industrial packaging products. For instance, Plastene offers a variety of transport and storage containers (Jumbo bags/FIBCs) for both dry and liquid (bulk) goods. Jumbo bags increasingly substitute plastic, paper, and cardboard packaging solutions for industrial customers.
• The rest of Asia-Pacific comprises South Korea, Singapore, and Hong Kong. South Korea's largest industries are electronics, automobiles, telecommunications, shipbuilding, chemicals, and steel. South Korea's 5 biggest export products by value in 2022 were electronic integrated circuits, cars, refined petroleum oils, phone devices, smartphones, and automobile parts or accessories. Those major exports accounted for well over a third (38.8%) of South Korea's overall exports (source: International Trade Center). It majorly catered to the demand for industrial packaging.
• Increasing focus on achieving cost-effectiveness in logistics and growing transportation of hazardous and non-hazardous materials brought steel drums and IBCs to the center stage. Imported chemicals are essential in producing some of Korea's top exports. Korea's chemistry industry is rapidly developing, and the country is ranked on the world's 5th production scale. Still, the demands for high-quality, sophisticated chemical products and associated substances production present a lucrative opportunity for United States chemical manufacturers. It led to major demand for industrial packaging, such as drums, to export chemicals.

Industrial Packaging Industry Overview

• May 2022: Berry Global's UK refuse sack business launched a new range of high-strength refuse sacks manufactured from recycled plastics. The recyclable sacks would be manufactured at the company's Heanor, Derbyshire manufacturing site and offered in the United Kingdom.
• May 2022: Smurfit Kappa Group PLC planned to invest EUR 35 million (USD 37.67 million) to build a packaging plant in Rabat, Morocco. It would be involved in manufacturing its products for applications in various sectors, including industrial, pharmaceuticals, fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG), agriculture, ceramics, and automotive.

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