Ceepackaging

Analysis

Rigid bulk packaging demand increasing

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-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 percent 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 percent 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 percent 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.