Demand for rigid bulk packaging in the US is projected to increase 2.1 per cent per year to $7.0 billion in 2013 despite the economic downturn predicts the Freedonia Group.
Although a moderation in raw material prices after the sharp increases of the 2003-2008 period will restrain value growth to some extent, unit growth will represent an improvement from the historical period.
Gains will be bolstered by an improvement in real manufacturing activity as well as a shift in the product mix toward larger, higher-value containers that offer enhanced performance and cost effectiveness.
These and other trends are presented in Rigid Bulk Packaging, a new study from The Freedonia Group, Inc., a Cleveland, US-based industry research firm.
The best opportunities will be found with containers offering a combination of total cost benefits, greater reusability and enhanced performance.
Rigid intermediate bulk containers (RIBCs) will register the fastest gains, with demand increasing 4.2 per cent annually through 2013 as a result of cost and performance advantages vis-à-vis smaller, single-use or shorter life packaging.
Material handling containers will also see above-average growth, driven by increased use of returnable and reusable containers to boost manufacturing efficiency and achieve cost savings.
Drums will continue to be the leading rigid bulk packaging product type based on their relatively low cost, reusability and amenability to shipping hazardous materials.
However, drum demand will advance less than one per cent annually as a result of the maturity of steel and fibre drums and a moderation in raw material pricing.
In addition, competition from both rigid and flexible intermediate bulk containers will restrain drum sales. Demand for pails will expand in line with the rigid bulk packaging average, with plastic types continuing to dominate based on their light weight, low cost, and corrosion and impact resistance.
Nondurable goods markets such as chemicals, food, plastics, rubber, fiber, petroleum, lubricants, and agricultural and horticultural products accounted for more than 80 per cent of demand in 2008.
Chemicals, by far the leading rigid bulk packaging market, will advance at a below-average pace as a result of the maturity of many chemical product segments, the increased presence of imports and the movement of key customers to developing regions.
Plastic is the leading rigid bulk packaging material, with steel and paperboard also significant.
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