World Demand for Packaging Machinery to Approach $40 Billion in 2012

World demand for packaging machinery is forecast to grow 5.2 percent annually through 2012 to almost $40 billion.  Product sales will be spurred by rising economic output and improved standards of living, resulting in increased consumer spending, manufacturing activity and associated packaging equipment demand.  These and other trends, including market share and product segmentation, are presented in World Packaging Machinery, a new study from The Freedonia Group, Inc., a Cleveland-based industry research firm.

Sales advances in developing parts of the world will outpace demand in the Triad countries of the US, Western Europe and Japan.  China will register the largest gains of any national market in value terms.  Packaging equipment demand in the country will expand by more than $3.3 billion from 2007 to 2012, and China will surpass Western Europe and the US to become the largest market in the world.  Increases are also expected to be healthy in Russia, India and Mexico, as well as in lower-volume markets in Asia, the Africa/Mideast region and Eastern Europe.

Packaging machinery demand will rise as well in developed parts of the world, although growth is expected to be relatively sluggish in a number of nations, including the UK, Germany, Italy and Japan.  Although demand will grow slowly, the outlook for packaging equipment production in these areas is somewhat more favorable.  Industry output will increase at a faster rate in developing countries, but new manufacturing capacity is being added in industrialized nations as well, and in 2012 Western Europe, Japan and the US will continue to account for over two-thirds of packaging machinery production.

Labeling and coding equipment will record the fastest gains of any packaging machinery type through 2012, driven by rising consumption of label-intensive nondurable goods, a growing need for shippers to accurately track items for safety and security reasons, and an expanding number of labeling regulations.  However, filling and form/fill/seal equipment will remain the most widely used type of packaging machinery, accounting for close to one-quarter of 2012 demand with above-average growth.  Demand for wrapping, bundling and palletizing equipment will also climb at a slightly above-average pace.

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.