Global Demand for Caps and Closures to Reach $40 Billion in 2014

World demand for caps and closures is projected to rise 4.6 percent per year to $40 billion in 2014.  Advances will be stimulated by growth in global manufacturing output (which will boost packaging requirements), trends toward urbanization and an ongoing shift in the product mix toward higher-value closures, such as child-resistant, tamper-evident and dispensing types.  Some of the best opportunities for caps and closures will be found in the Asia/Pacific region, which will account for more than two-fifths of aggregate market value gains between 2009 and 2014. Beverages -- beer and carbonated soft drinks in particular -- will remain the main consumers of caps and closures, but more rapid gains are expected in smaller markets such as food and pharmaceuticals. These and other trends, including market share and product segmentation, are presented in World Caps & Closures, a new study from The Freedonia Group, Inc., a Cleveland-based industry market research firm.

While the US is by far the world’s biggest consumer of caps and closures in value terms, the most rapid advances will occur in developing regions.  Growth in Asia, the Africa/Mideast region, Central and South America, and Eastern Europe will outpace the global average.  Industrialization trends and improvements in living standards will fuel demand for caps and closures in these regions’ generally underdeveloped end-user manufacturing industries (e.g., food and beverage processing, pharmaceuticals, and cosmetics and toiletries).  China, which is the world’s largest consumer of caps and closures in volume terms, will continue to see some of the fastest growth as advances in personal income levels and consumer expenditures, combined with trends toward urbanization, boost demand for packaged consumer goods.  These factors will fuel cap and closure requirements in China, as will increased exports of Chinese goods to more advanced consumer economies (creating the need for higher-quality packaging that meets international standards).  India will also see rapid increases in cap and closure demand through 2014, but gains will stem from a much smaller base.

Plastic caps and closures, the largest product type, will continue to see above-average growth.  Demand will benefit from greater use of plastic packaging at the expense of glass bottles and jars (especially in food and beverage applications), as plastic containers typically use plastic caps and closures, while glass bottles and jars often use metal closures.  Despite losing market share to plastics, metal caps and closures will continue to represent a large share of total demand. 

The Freedonia Group is a leading international business research company, founded in 1985, that publishes more than 100 industry research studies annually. This industry analysis provides an unbiased outlook and a reliable assessment of an industry and includes product segmentation and demand forecasts, industry trends, demand history, threats and opportunities, competitive strategies, market share determinations and company profiles.