According to PIRA International's new report, "The Future of Global Packaging Market & Technology Forecasts to 2016," the global packaging industry will increase to almost US$ 820 BN by 2016. According to the report, a 3%/pa growth rate will focus on board products & rigid plastics, with US$ 40 BN & US$ 33 BN in cumulative predicted growth respectively to 2016, pushed mainly by increasing demand for packaging in emerging & transitional economies. The report forecasts to 2016 provides market sizes & forecasts as per by packaging product, end-use sector & geographic market, in a comprehensive overview of the status of the packaging industry in 50 countries globally, & is based on an in-depth combination of primary & secondary data from the global packaging industry. This growth is caused by a number of trends such as increasing urbanization, investment in housing & construction, an expanding healthcare sector & the still rapid development in emerging economies, such as China, India, Brazil & some eastern EU countries. An increase in personal income in developing regions fuels consumption across a broad range of products, with growth in demand for the packaging of these goods. According to the Pira, the US was the largest consumer for packaging in 2010 with a demand of USD 137 BN; followed closely by China at US$ 80 BN. China is anticipated to surpass the US by 2017, & India will enter the top ten packaging countries with its demand expected to almost double in the next 5 years to US$ 24 BN. Technological developments in packaging are seeing an upswing in the consumption of bio-polymers in both rigid & flexible applications, improved value adding in products with functional & barrier coatings, as well as enhanced graphics, resource reduction by way of continuous lightweighting across all materials, & other developments. The consumption of metal packaging represented over 15% of the 2010 market but is expected to lose market share to competing products, reaching only 14% of the 2016 market, while demand for glass containers is also anticipated to slow down over the medium term, but still increasing from some US$ 45 BN in 2010 to around US$ 53BN by 2016. Pira research shows that food & healthcare packaging will continue to be the biggest end uses in global packaging, with the food & drinks industry growing by almost US$ 43 BN combined to 2016. Health care packs will grow 4.5% each year to reach a total of US$ 34 BN, while cosmetics packaging is expected to grow 4.2% per year, reaching US$ 24 BN.
