Top Three Trends Transforming the Industrial Packaging Industry

Abhrasnata Das

Around $36 trillion worth of manufactured items were created globally in 2018, virtually all of which were packaged, safeguarded, and distributed in some kind of industrial packaging. These industrial packaging materials are essential for the affordable, effective, and secure transportation of produced goods in domestic, international, and local trade.

According to Smithers' most recent industry analysis, "The Future of Industrial Packaging through 2024," demand for industrial packaging will continue to expand over the next five years, with market value increasing from $56.2 billion in 2019 to $66 billion in 2024 at a CAGR of 3.3%.

Although there are other far-reaching elements that may promote increased product innovations and evolutionary reorganization of value chains and business models, overall demand in this sector will always closely track global trade flows. As end-use requirements change, let's examine the major trends affecting the industrial packaging sector:

Adopting Packaging Automation

The primary difficulties the packaging sector has encountered have to do with productivity, accuracy, and quality control. Numerous businesses continue to actively use manual package inspection procedures, which leaves a lot of possibility for mistakes in the packaging's quality. Manual package inspection is inefficient, dangerous, and frequently results in total packaging recalls that consume a significant percentage of a company's budget.

The packaging industry has switched to automated manufacturing methods for more precise output as a result of the implications of such errors. Packaging needs to be structurally strong and sturdy in order to resist any possible difficult shipping and handling conditions, especially in the "renaissance" of e-commerce that we presently live in.

Manufacturers have increased their investments in package quality control automation as a means of protecting their companies and, more importantly, their customers. Automated technology enables producers to create an all-in-one quality control platform that can be coupled with other systems and hardware, in addition to the individual management of each step of product production.

A maximum return on investment, time efficiency, and greater customer loyalty are all benefits of such a manufacturing method.

Supply Chain Issues Affecting Packaging

The repercussions of the epidemic continue to have an influence on the globe in many ways as it begins to settle into new norms. One significant shift is the increased reliance on shipping. For many organizations, rising transportation costs and constrained cargo capacity have persisted, making it challenging to manage money effectively.

Businesses have little options since they are bound by expensive transportation costs and contracts, which forces them to pass these costs on to customers. Unfortunately, this is true not just for their items but also for the bespoke packaging.

The Financial Times reports that the cost of shipping containers carrying products from China to the US and Europe has stayed at an all-time high and is expected to rise over the next several years.It is becoming clear that increasing freight costs could be a permanent trend as companies continue to sign contracts with rates that are higher than typical.

Sustainability Initiatives

Particularly since customers' awareness of the environment has grown, the packaging sector has undergone several changes. The packaging sector has had to adapt swiftly to allay customer worries and guarantee that they are conducting business in an ecologically sustainable manner as sustainability and regulation have come under increased scrutiny.

As they attempt to strike a balance between their own interests and sustainability and public demand, doing so has nonetheless also produced a great deal of complexity for enterprises and organizations. Additionally, packaging sustainability rules have grown more stringent and are a new obstacle for companies aiming to reduce their environmental effect.
Even if there are several measures in place to promote sustainability activities, the reliance on plastics cannot be eliminated. Waste management, recycling, and technology all need to advance more for the required improvements in packaging materials and disposal techniques to become a reality.

Growth Ahead

Two megatrends—global population expansion and the growing middle class—are now fueling the packaging industry's growth. By 2040, the population of the world is expected to increase from its current 7.5 billion people to 9.2 billion.

In the meantime, the number of individuals in the middle class worldwide is anticipated to increase by 66% during the course of the following 10 years, from 3 billion to more than 5 billion, as people live longer, healthier, and better lives.

The availability of automobiles, home appliances, and technology will rise as living standards rise. This is especially true in China, where it is predicted that GDP per capita would treble to more than $40,000 by 2040, equivalent to the purchasing power in the OECD region of Europe in 2030.