Global Chemical Packaging Market - Growth, Trends, COVID-19 Impact, and Forecasts (2021 - 2026)

The chemical packaging market is expected to witness a CAGR of 3.23% during the forecast period of 2021-2026. In the chemical industry, the packaging is a crucial component for chemical handling and safety. Without proper packaging of chemicals (bulk liquid), the risk of incidents and real danger to people's safety and material protection becomes high, including product and asset damages and fatalities in the cases of fire explosions.

Key Highlights

• Furthermore, regions such as Europe have stringent regulations for chemical packaging. Provisions on dangerous good packaging by ADR European Agreement concerning the International Carriage of Dangerous Goods additionally expresses the importance of selecting the proper packaging, including that IBCs and large packaging shall not be affected or significantly weakened by those dangerous goods, should not cause catalyzing a reaction. This drives the requirement for robust packaging solutions in the chemicals sector of the region.
• Several new packages satisfy the safety concerns, in addition to providing a greener footprint. Traditionally, many chemical manufacturers have significantly used pails and drums in transporting their products. While these products have several benefits over competitive materials, new products are satisfying a significant gap in the market sustainability. For instance, bag-in-box and industrial bulk containers allow for more product-per-package, and they are collapsible, reducing landfill space and transportation costs.​
• Other than drums, Intermediate Bulk Containers (IBCs) are particularly suited to the chemical industry, as they can safely transport various solid or liquid products, including materials needing safe handling, as well as those identified as hazardous, such as classes 3, 4, 5 and 9, and other chemicals, such as edible liquids, lubricating, and essential oils. However, the changing regulatory standards, fluctuations in raw material costs and growing waste levels, and increasing environment wastage regulations are expected to hamper some chemical packaging products' market growth.
• According to the American Chemistry Council, basic chemicals, including organic chemicals, inorganics chemicals, plastic resins, synthetic rubber, and manufactured fibers, witnessed a global production increase of 1.4% between January 2020 and August 2020 and has not witnessed a substantial impact due to COVID-19. However, the production of specialty chemicals took a significant hit as the global production declined by 11.2%, and especially for specialty chemicals, such as coatings, the production fell by 25.2% between January 2020 to August 2020, which negatively affected the usage of packaging in the specialty chemicals segment.​

Key Market Trends

Bags and Sacks to Witness Significant Growth rate

• Paper and biodegradable sacks are preferred over plastic sacks or bags due to the increasing concern over plastic packaging waste generated worldwide. This has led to governments adapting to alternative sources such as biodegradable packaging. The United States accounts for only 4% of the world’s population and generates 2% of global Municipality Solid Waste (MSW). It is also stated that the United States produces about 106.2 kg of plastic waste per person per year.
• In some regions, COVID stimulates companies from various industries to bring back single-use plastic bags rather than accept reusable ones. This is mainly done due to the ability of single-use plastics to reduce the risk of potential viral transmission. Hence, an increasing number of chemical companies have suspended the use of reusable containers, and states have begun to rescind plastic bag bans temporarily.
• The rapid shift toward sustainable packaging solutions further stimulates the sack providers to innovate and provide recyclable or sustainable sacks for industrial purposes. For instance, ExxonMobil offers a range of performance PE polymers, including Exceed XP and ExxonMobil HDPE, among other products, to create several opportunities for differentiated, sustainable, heavy-duty sack solutions.
• Furthermore, Poland can be called the major country of the chemical industry in the region of Central and Eastern Europe. According to the Central Statistical Office, the chemical sector in Poland employs around 300,000 people, which accounts for 11% of employment in the entire industry within Poland. The most significant breakthrough in the development of the chemical industry in Poland, which awaits the country in the coming years, may be the development of refining, petrochemical, and plastics processing industries. Such a trend may lead to more demand for bags and sacks in the future.
• Concern over the environmental impact of products is an established phenomenon. There has been a revived interest in sustainability explicitly focussed on the packaging. This is reflected in central government and municipal regulations, consumer attitudes, and brand owner values communicated via packaging. As sustainability has become a key motivator for consumers, brands are increasingly keen on packaging materials and designs that show their commitment to the environment.

Asia Pacific to hold significant market share

• The demand for steel drums & IBCs in China is driven by increasing spending on trade activities and growing demand for chemical packaging. For instance, China's chemical industry has been the largest in the world, given revenue generation since 2011. The industry has contributed to half of the growth of the world chemical market for the past two decades and has played an important impetus for China's high economic growth.
• The growing incidents of storage and transportation of hazardous chemicals are further expected to foster the consumption of IBC and steel drums as they are perceived as safe packing solutions for such products. Further, owing to the health risks posed by chemicals upon leakage and leach followed by the demand for a solution that prevents exposure to the external environment continue to rise, drives the growth of the market in the region.
• Moreover, with the landscape of the chemical industry changing globally, China is expected to drive its chemical industry to the next stage of development by taking the lead by leveraging technology innovation and trade and prevailing in the international market.

Competitive Landscape

The chemical packaging market is moderately competitive and consists of a significant number of global and regional players. These players account for a considerable share in the market and focus on expanding their client base, worldwide. These players focus on R&D activities, strategic alliances, and other organic and inorganic growth strategies to stay in the market landscape over the forecast period.

• April 2021 - Mauser Packaging Solutions announced the acquisition of Global Tank Srl through Joint Venture NCG-Maider in Italy. Via this acquisition, Mauser Packaging Solutions will further extend the offering of industrial packaging products and services in the Italian market while strengthening the company’s position as the global market player in reconditioning.

Additional Benefits:

• The market estimate (ME) sheet in Excel format
• 3 months of analyst support