Cartonboard growth limited by short runs: Survey

Packaging and folding carton converting will lead a 4.5 per cent growth in annual consumption of cartonboard through to 2016, a new study has found.
 
The research, by Smithers-Pira and Karstedt Partners and supplemented with primary research by Israeli printing specialist Landa, is contained in a Landa white paper Accelerating the Growth of Packaging Production in the 21st Century.

Landa said its direct findings, combined with the the Smithers-Pira and Karstedt research, showed that total, annual consumption of cartonboard currently stands at 43 million tonnes, and generates $US82 billion ($A85.5 billion) in revenue a year.

It said the expected growth of the folding carton segment is being fueled by powerful global population and economic trends as well as technological advancements unique to packaging and folding carton converting.

The massive transition in global demographics, consumer preferences, and product branding is affecting every segment of the packaging industry.

Folding carton converters, who comprise the packaging industry’s largest segment, are increasingly limited by their ability to deliver shorter runs to cater to these developments, Landa suggested.

The company said more than 3000 converting companies around the world stand to benefit from this increased demand if they can meet the market’s standards for quality, speed, format, and substrates while complying with demands for much shorter runs.

“The white paper is the result of our intensive study of the packaging industry and the folding carton segment,” Landa vice-president of Marketing, Ila Bialystok explained.

“Landa representatives have been on an amazing global tour in which we met with many of our customers as well as industry analysts and end users. Everyone shared their challenges, goals, and vision for the industry.”