Smithers' forecast for USD 473.4-bn packaging market
In 2022, the package printing market was estimated to be worth USD 473.7 billion. A new dedicated study – The Future of Package Printing to 2027 said this will reach USD 551.3 billion by 2027 (constant 2021 prices), with a growth rate of 3.1%. Flexo is the largest process when it comes to package printing in 2022 and remains the largest till 2027, growing at a rate of 2.4%. Globally, corrugated and cartons is the largest material segment and will remain so to 2027, growing at a rate of 3.3%.
03 Sep 2022 | By Abhay Avadhani
Report: Flexo to remain the most widely used print process
A report from Smithers has published a new dedicated studyThe Future of Package Printing to 2027 has found that labels and printed packaging will continue to increase in demand, and represent a strategic priority for press OEMs, ink suppliers and print service providers across the next five years.
Across the same period the volume of corrugated board, folding cartons, rigid and flexible plastics, metal, and labels stocks printed worldwide will increase from 13.0 trillion to 15.4 trillion A4 print equivalents.
As per the Smithers report, flexo will remain the most widely used print process – due to its popularity in long-run corrugated board, labels and flexible plastics work. It represents around 36% of the contemporary market and natural expansion gives flexo a positive growth outlook (+2.4% CAGR, by value) through to 2027. Other analogue processes, including offset litho (+2.5% CAGR), will see similar organic growth across the five-year Smithers study period, mainly from developing markets.
The greatest expansion however will come from digital print for packaging – with a CAGR of over 10% forecast through to 2027. Print service providers are poised to reap the benefits of very significant R&D investment by digital OEMs, delivering improvements in productivity, reliability and expanding the number of print commissions where digital is price-competitive with established analogue production.
This report covers the print for packaging market in 2017-2027. It explores the restraining factors in play, including the increasing demand for more sustainable packaging; this will alter patterns of demand between packaging materials, as well as restraining overall demand in the market to some extent. The market will grow over the coming five years, underpinned by deep-rooted drivers: global population increase, the increasing rate of global urbanisation, the growing global middle-class consumers and the rising number of one-person households, which drives demand for smaller pack sizes.
The impact of all these drivers is assessed in The Future of Package Printing to 2027 from Smithers. This analysis is quantified in a comprehensive dataset with over 150 data tables and figures, segmenting the market for 2017-2027.