The North American market for value-added flexible packaging increased by 3.9 percent in 2018, to $25.3 billion, according to a report from Wood Mackenzie Chemicals.
Sales in the North American region accounted for almost 30 percent of the global total sales of about $90 billion.
“Despite environmental concerns over packaging sustainability, particularly with regard to the use of plastics, flexible packaging demand in North America will continue to grow at above GPD over the next five years,” said Paul Gaster, Wood Mackenzie analyst. “While the industry continues to steadily consolidate, the top 25 converters still account for less than 50 percent of North American value-added flexible packaging sales, compared with 70 percent in Europe.”
North America’s flexible packaging market should achieve a compound annual growth rate of 3.8 percent over the next five years, to reach more than $30 billion in 2023, Wood Mackenzie said.
“Rising concerns by consumers and environmental pressure groups regarding the recyclability of flexible packaging is driving the development of sustainable alternatives to traditional forms of plastic packaging,” Gaster said. ‘However, there are no quick fixes.”
The report said the industry continues to be a hotbed for mergers and acquisitions, which is changing the structure of the industry, which Wood Mackenzie said is still fragmented and oversupplied.
“Companies are repositioning their assets, rationalizing and restructuring their businesses, often involving the divestment of non-core activities and the addition of strategic bolt-on acquisitions,” Gaster said.
For information, visit www.woodmac.com.