Global Corrugated Board Market To See 5% Growth to 2015
- Published: July 28, 2010
LEATHERHEAD, UK | The global corrugated board packaging market is forecast to grow to 98 million tons in 2015, a new study by Pira Intl. reveals. According to the study, the sector is to grow by a CAGR of nearly 5% between 2010 and 2015, with the highest expansion rates forecast in Brasil, Russia, India, China (the BRIC countries), and Poland.
Following the global recession, the paper and packaging industry has faced mill closures, staff redundancies, evaporating profits and dwindling demand. Based on extensive primary and desk research, "The Future of Corrugated Board Packaging to 2015" offers up-to-date information on the state of the global corrugated board market plus rational forecasts of future demand, broken down by country, print process, end use and other factors. The study also contains an in-depth analysis of the sector in terms of its key players, supply chain, geographic structure, key drivers and the shares of individual uses of corrugated board.
Actual consumption of corrugated board was 77 million tons in 2009, with an exconverter value of almost $82 billion, according to the report. Asia was 44% of total corrugated board production, China was almost 25% and the U.S. was 20%. Pira expects the overall market to rise 1.2% in 2010 to 78 million tons. For the period to 2015 the outlook is more positive with a forecast CAGR of 4.7%, taking the market to 98 million tons in 2015.
Pira expects the growth rate to vary by country. "Over the short term, we forecast that developed markets will show slight declines in consumption. At the same time we believe that India, China, Russia, Poland and Brazil offer the most compelling growth prospects in the five years to come", says Adam Page, Head of Editorial at Pira.
More than 60% of corrugated board is used to package non-food products. The largest single end-use sector is the electrical goods market. Processed food is 25% of the total demand and all food is just under 40%. Pira expects the strongest prospects will be found in personal and household care products, glassware, electrical goods and chemicals. Processed food will be 25% of incremental volume, over 5 million tons of additional demand between 2010 and 2015. In food markets, the BRIC countries--Brazil, Russia, India, and China--offer the most exciting growth prospects, along with Poland and Brazil; forecast incremental demand for 2010-15 is 7 million tons and China will take 4 million tons.
The key drivers to affect the corrugated board industry in 2010-2015 include:
* The economic situation: countries with faster growing economies will also see more growth in their corrugated board markets.
* The changing characteristics of the consumer market, e.g. the growing demand for convenience foods and fast foods, which require special types of packaging.
* The development of online shopping around the world, which will stimulate demand for simple packaging made of corrugated board.
* The pressure from the market on product manufacturers to use environmentally friendly packaging, resulting in, among others, the invention of new corrugated board coatings.
* The trend of lightweighting, which will drive down market volume.
According to Pira, there are 850-900 mills producing containerboard in the world. The number of board converting companies is much larger though, making the corrugated board market a fragmented industry. The sales of the top 20 companies make up 35% of the market volume, and the largest player is International Paper, holding a 7% market share.
"The Future of Corrugated Board Packaging to 2015" is available now for £3,750. For more information, contact Stephen Hill at +44 0 1372 802025, or by email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..