Well Packed: Ceresana Publishes the First-Ever Study on the Global Market for Rigid Plastic Containers

Konstanz, Germany, August 15, 2014 --(PR.com)-- Plastic packaging is available in the most diverse forms and applications; they increasingly replace traditional materials such as glass or metal. Ceresana now publishes the first study on the global market for rigid plastic containers. For this study, analysts have analyzed all relevant market data from 2005 onwards. They forecast demand for rigid plastic containers to amount to 46.2 million tonnes worldwide in 2021.

Complex Market

Besides overall economic development, the market for plastic containers is subject to a range of influences. Factors that have to be taken into account are, for example, low per capita consumption on certain beverage markets in parts of Asia-Pacific or the dynamic urbanization and income development in that region, which results in a change of consumption behavior. In many industrialized countries, on the other hand, effects of the economic crisis such as a rising unemployment rate and subsequent decline of available income are playing a role, as does demographic development. Additionally, public regulations, e.g. taxes or recycling systems, may influence the market. Some segments are reporting a shift from traditional materials to plastics. At the same time, plastic containers also face an increasing competition by flexible plastic packaging solutions. Other trends such as convenience, increasing women's employment, sustainability or lightweighting also have impacts on the market for plastic containers.

Large Regional Differences

Demand for plastic containers differs widely depending on region and application. Expectations for future development in individual countries often vary extremely. While the market for lemonades is relatively saturated in many industrialized nations, growth potential in Asia-Pacific is still very high. Consumption of bottled water is influenced by a variety of trends as well. In many countries, there are organizations and initiatives that campaign for a reduction of packaged water consumption for environmental reasons, regarding tap water as a cheaper and more environmentally sustainable alternative. Yet bottled water is increasingly becoming an attractive and healthy alternative to sweetened soft drinks for many consumers. Additionally, the quality of tap water does not fulfill required sanitary standards in many world regions and has to be boiled before consumption in order to ensure sterility. This time and energy consuming process can be avoided by using bottled water.

PET and Polypropylene Gaining Market Shares

In the past, PET containers have been gaining a very high market share in the segments CSD and bottled water in particular. By now, PET containers can also be found in segments such as foodstuffs, fruit juices of household chemicals. They continue to profit from their positive characteristics: They weigh comparatively little, can be recycled, do not break, and offer high clarity. At the same time, the gas barrier properties and protection against UV radiation they offer continue to improve. Apart from PET, containers made from polypropylene (PP) are becoming more important as well. They profit from a rising demand for packaged foodstuffs in particular.

The Study in Brief:

Chapter 1 provides a presentation and analysis of the market for plastic containers, including forecasts up to 2021. Characteristic figures such as demand (in tonnes), revenues (in US$ billion and € billion) and production volume (in tonnes) are provided for each world region. Chapter 2 lists the consumption of plastic containers split by applications (in tonnes), revenues generated with plastic containers (in US$ billion and € billion), production split by types of plastic (in tonnes) as well as import and export for 16 countries. Chapter 3 offers a detailed analysis of various application areas for plastic containers: Data on demand development in the applications Lemonades, Water, Fruit Juices, Other Beverages, Household Chemicals, Cosmetics & Pharma, Food, and Industry & Transport (in tonnes) are given. Chapter 4 analyzes the production of containers split by the plastics PET, HDPE, PP, PS & EPS and the group of other plastics. The analysis of output is shown clearly for each of the 16 analyzed countries and all world regions (in tonnes). Chapter 5 provides profiles of the largest manufacturers of plastic containers, clearly arranged according to contact details, turnover, profit, product range, production sites, and profile summary. Extensive profiles of 104 producers are given, including ALPLA Werke Alwin Lehner GmbH & Co KG, Amcor Limited, Ball Corporation, Coca Cola, Dai Nippon Printing Co., Ltd., DS Smith Plc, Greif, Inc., Rexam PLC, Reynolds Group Holdings Limited, Sealed Air Corporation, Silgan Holdings Inc., Sonoco Products Company, Tokan Kogyo Co., Ltd., TOPPAN PRINTING CO., LTD., Toyo Seikan Group Holdings, Ltd.

About Ceresana:
Ceresana is a leading international market research and consultancy company for the industrial sector and operates branch offices in Constance, Vienna and Hong Kong. For more than 10 years, it has been supplying several thousand customers from 55 countries with up-to-date market intelligence. Extensive market knowledge creates new prospects for strategic and operational decisions. Ceresana's clients profit from practical consulting services, tailor-made single-client studies and more than 60 independent multi-client market studies. The Ceresana business analysts are specialists in markets chemicals, plastics, additives, commodities, industrial components, packaging, and construction materials.