Plastic Products Global Market Report 2021: COVID-19 Impact and Recovery to 2030

Major companies in the plastic products market include Newell Brands Inc; Compagnie de Saint-Gobain S. A; Sonoco Products Co; Sealed Air Corporation and Berry Plastics Corporation.

The global plastic products market is expected to grow from $931. 33 billion in 2020 to $993. 19 billion in 2021 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6. 6%. The growth is mainly due to the companies rearranging their operations and recovering from the COVID-19 impact, which had earlier led to restrictive containment measures involving social distancing, remote working, and the closure of commercial activities that resulted in operational challenges. The market is expected to reach $1258. 1 billion in 2025 at a CAGR of 6%.

The plastic products market consists of sales of plastic products by entities (organizations, sole traders and partnerships) that produce packaging materials, film and sheet, foam products, plastic bottles and all other plastic products which have domestic and industrial applications. These businesses use polymers and resins as raw materials which are primarily sourced from polymer suppliers. The processes used in plastic products manufacturing include compression molding, extrusion molding, injection molding, blow molding and casting. The plastic products market is segmented into plastics packaging materials and unlaminated film and sheet; plastic pipes and shapes; laminated plastics plate, sheet, and shape; plastics bottles; urethane and other foam products; polystyrene foam products and other plastics products.

Asia Pacific was the largest region in the global plastic products market, accounting for 37% of the market in 2020. North America was the second largest region accounting for 30% of the global plastic products market. Africa was the smallest region in the global plastic products market.

The practice of using 3D printing in plastics manufacturing is becoming more common. This technology produces solid objects from digital designs by building up multiple layers of plastic, resin, or other materials in a precisely determined shape. The speed and flexibility of this technology can promote innovation and reduce time-to-market. The products produced using 3D printers have good mechanical properties like strength and rigidity. For example, Stratasys developed one such color multi-material 3D printer which can combine colors with multi-material 3D printing. The printer uses cyan, magenta and yellow colors and plastics and elastomers as base materials to print objects with wide ranges of flexibility and rigidity, transparency and opacity.

The outbreak of Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has acted as a massive restraint on the plastic products manufacturing market in 2020 as supply chains were disrupted due to trade restrictions and consumption declined due to lockdowns imposed by governments globally. COVID 19 is an infectious disease with flu-like symptoms including fever, cough, and difficulty in breathing. The virus was first identified in 2019 in Wuhan, Hubei province of the People’s Republic of China and spread globally including Western Europe, North America and Asia. Steps by national governments to contain the transmission have resulted in halting of manufacturing activities and a decline in economic activity with countries entering a state of 'lock down' and the outbreak is expected to continue to have a negative impact on businesses throughout 2020 and into 2021. However, it is expected that the plastic products manufacturing market will recover from the shock across the forecast period as it is a 'black swan' event and not related to ongoing or fundamental weaknesses in the market or the global economy

The plastics products manufacturing industry is affected by the growth of the packaging industry. There are a number of new developments in the packaging industry that will drive the demand for plastic materials. Convenience features, such as resealable packs, easy-to-open stand-up pouches and smaller pack sizes for single-servings are being introduced and more promotional packs and brand extensions are being developed to ensure customer loyalty. These developments in packaging will increase the consumption of plastics and are driving the market.