World Bulk Packaging

World demand to rise 5.8% annually through 2015
Worldwide demand for bulk packaging is projected to rise 5.8 percent per year to $56.0 billion in 2015. Advances will be driven by growth in manufacturing activity, especially in key end-user industries such as chemicals and pharmaceuticals, and food and beverages. Film wrap demand will see the fastest gains, benefiting from growing requirements for the bundling and protection of goods during warehousing and distribution. Demand for film wrap will also be bolstered by retail trends, as a greater number of retailers offer a broad range of goods packaged in bulk and utilize secondary packaging for product warehousing and multipack bundling.

Shipping sacks to remain largest segment, but lag growth in other types
Although shipping sacks will continue to represent the largest product type, shipping sack demand will exhibit belowaverage growth through the forecast period and beyond. Strong price competition and increasing use of alternative products -- such as flexible intermediate bulk containers (FIBCs) and various rigid bulk packaging types, including material handling containers and drums -- will serve to limit gains in shipping sack demand. Demand for drums will benefit from an upswing in global chemical and pharmaceutical production, as chemicals comprise by far the leading application for drums. Growth in pail demand will be slightly below average, due to competition from other packaging formats, including drums, bulk boxes and shipping sacks. Plastic pails will experience faster gains than their steel counterparts as a result of their lighter weight, which substantially reduces shipping expenses. Nevertheless, steel pails will maintain their niche in paints, coatings and other chemical product applications, particularly with solvent-based substances that can damage plastic packaging.

Strong growth in Asia, but US to remain leading market
The most rapid gains will be seen in the world’s developing regions. The Asia/ Pacific region will remain the largest regional market in the world, due to its large food and beverage, and chemical and pharmaceutical industries. Central and South America, Eastern Europe, and the Africa/Mideast region will also post above-average growth, though advances in these areas will stem from relatively small bases (collectively, these three regions will only account for twelve percent of global bulk packaging demand in 2015). Overall, the fastest growth will be seen in Asia, specifically in China, India and Indonesia. Other developing countries such as Brazil, Mexico and Russia are also expected to see healthy gains.

In contrast, advances will be generally below average in North America and Western Europe, where markets are more established. The US, which accounted for 27 percent of global sales in 2010, is the largest national bulk packaging market in the world by a wide margin. Other large, but mature markets include Japan and Germany. While Japan will remain one of the largest national markets in the world, the country is forecast to see the slowest growth rate through 2015. Nonetheless, good opportunities will still be found in developed countries, especially for flexible bulk packaging products such as film wrap.

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