Total value for printed packaging, considered the most lucrative of all print segments for some 10 years running, stands at $431.6 billion in 2020, according to the latest exclusive data from Smithers.
Amid revelations in its recently released report, The Future of Package Printing to 2025, “Packaging print market growth will continue to expand at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 2.6 percent and reach $491.1 billion.”
Other highlights of that analysis and its sister document, The Future of Flexo Printing to 2025, include:
- Global packaging revenues did suffer a drop of 6 percent in the last 12 months, due to the global pandemic, with flexography bucking that trend and experiencing a marginal increase in sales
- Revenue still set a pace of $860 billion and growth charts indicate a CAGR of just over 2 percent in the six-year period between 2015 and 2020
- Printed packaging represents 50 percent of volume. Expectations project the market will recover in the 2020 to 2030 timeframe, reaching $1.13 trillion at the dawn of the next decade
- In 2030, some 57 percent of production will be printed packaging, carrying an estimated value of $56.5 billion
- Flexography’s market share calculated out to approximately 40 percent in 2020
- Flexography will stand strong at 37 percent in 2025
Figure 1: Printed Packaging Trendlines
Data courtesy of Smithers
Innovate & Protect
Smithers researchers maintain, “Rising demand for printed packaging will ensure genuine growth in the market for flexo printing as the global economy recovers from the COVID-19 shock.” Among their critical observations, “The flexo supply chain is having to innovate to protect markets from moving over to digital presses.”
The international market watcher further notes, “The Future of Flexo Printing to 2025shows that in 2020 global value [reached] $167.7 billion; with only a marginal increase compared to 2019, due to the economic slowdown caused by the pandemic. While not especially positive, this outlook is much better than for many competing analog processes. It is largely due to flexo’s widespread use in packaging work.”
Elaborating on the point, analysts explain, “As markets recover, flexo printing is forecast to grow at 1.6 percent year-on-year to reach $181.1 billion in 2025, with packaging increasing its market share.” Reiterating the emphasis on ingenuity, researchers stress, “Innovation in production to respond to the threat of high-throughput inkjet is a major stimulus; and one that presents opportunities for print service providers, OEMs, consumables and substrate suppliers.”
Smithers acknowledges, “The main recommendation for flexo is that it is the most cost-effective solution for mid-to-long runs of packaging. This will continue to be true, but the wider availability of digital presses will take more short-run work from flexo presses, and is challenging OEMs to innovate to improve responsiveness and turnaround.”
The top four end-use applications for flexography are all in packaging and make heavy use of paper and board substrates, according to Smithers.
“Rising demand for printed packaging will ensure genuine growth in the market for flexo printing as the global economy recovers from the COVID-19 shock.”
“Corrugated is clearly the leading end-use with a 57 percent share by value, worth $95.9 billion, in 2020. It is set to break the $100 billion mark before 2025,” Smithers reports. “Flexible packaging accounts for a fifth of flexo print by value, and labels 8.6 percent. Folding cartons are 5.1 percent of the market by value, and will see an acceleration in growth over the five years to 2025.”
Speaking to likely developments on the packaging equipment front, recent research heralds, “Growth in corrugated and carton production will support more wide web installations over the 2020 to 2025 period; and a corresponding growth of sheetfed folder/gluer installations to handle finishing. Flexible packaging growth will support the use of more medium web presses; but competition from inkjet and toner will see a decline in demand for narrow web flexo machines.”
Addressing trends by application, Smithers details driving business trends, potential opportunities and obvious challenges.