Market study: Engineering plastics

04-Oct-2013 - Germany

Caps and closures are an important part of packaging and containers such as bottles, canisters, cans, tubes, stand-up pouches, and beverage cartons. Often, they do not only serve to open the container, but also offer the option to reseal it.

Market researchers at Ceresana forecast global demand for plastics caps and closures to rise to more than 1,1 trillion units (1,100,000,000,000)! Plastic is the by far most important material for these articles of daily use that are consumed in ever greater quantities, since traditional materials like aluminum, tinplate, glass or cork are increasingly replaced.

Due to, e.g., their low weight and versatility in regard to applications, plastics have cost and environmental advantages, facilitate handling and manufacturing, improve quality and security, and offer new opportunities for packaging design.

Growth market cosmetics and pharma

This worldwide most comprehensive study analyzes the market for caps and closures made from plastics. These include, i.a., screw caps for canisters and bottles as well as plastic caps for cups and containers. The segment Beverages (Lemonades, Water, Fruit Juices, etc.) accounted for approx. 62% of total plastic closures consumption in 2012. The remaining closures are utilized for applications such as food containers, cosmetics, personal care products, perfumes, pharmaceuticals, and household detergents. The sector Cosmetics / Pharma in particular is expected to develop at above-average growth rates. Demand for plastic caps and closures in this sector is projected to increase by, on average, 4.9% p.a. until 2020.

Trend and market dynamism

The market for plastic caps and closures is profiting substantially from an increasing use of packaging made of plastics, of PET-based disposable bottles in particular. Rising demand for bottled water and smaller packaging sizes as well as dispensing systems will provide important stimuli to growth in the future. The quality of plastic caps and closures is improving continuously. Thus, they gain access to segments that traditionally used other materials. Examples for this trend are the sub-categories wine, beer, or liquid foodstuffs such as sauces.

More restrictive packaging standards in countries of strong economic development and increasing requirements of consumers all around the world on packaging are likely to result in a rising consumption of advanced closures, such as temper-evidence caps and dispensers. Reduction of costs and weight remains a declared goal of manufacturers. On the other hand, lighter closures still have to meet the high requirements. Additional growth impulses are provided by an increase of world population, rising standard of life in emerging countries, and the spread of a westernized way of consuming. As a consequence, Ceresana forecasts a considerable increase of demand for Asia in particular. This region is expected to increase world market share from 34% to approx. 42% during the next eight years.

https://www.chemeurope.com/en/news/145216/market-study-engineering-plastics.html