Plastic container growth set to continue, despite oil price hike
value-added packaging and the growing use of plastic, cups and
pouches, are driving the steady growth in the use of food
containersin the US, according to the Freedonia Group.
Growth by value in food container demand is projected at about three per cent a year to $20.7 billion in 2009 from $17.8 million in 2004, the firm stated.
Plastic containers, and bags and pouches, will log the fastest growth among major food container types, often supplanting paperboard, metal and glass containers, said Esther Palevsky, the analystwho wrote the report.
How current pricing rises for plastic food containers, driven by the rise in oil, will affect the six per forecast growth for the segment remains an unknown she told FoodProductionDaily.com.
"There has been a huge increase in resin costs but these are factored into the forecast," Palevsky said. "It's impossible to tell whether they will keep rising or leveloff. There is a growth in demand and producers of containers are going to raise prices but food companies can offset the extra costs with long term contracts."
Plastic will continue to advance despite the price pressures due to the material's performance advantages over competitive materials. Improved resin and processing technologies will add to itsadvantages for US food companies.
Plastic container demand will be driven by improved heat resistance and barrier properties as well as advances in panel-less polyethylene terephthalate (PET) hot-fill bottle construction.
Such developments enhance the look of the container, achieving an appearance more like glass bottles.
As reported previously by FoodProductionDaily-USA.com, other developments include a monolayer PET that binds oxygen developed by Philadelphia-based Constar International.
Meanwhile the demand for bags and pouches will be driven by food companies looking for visual appeal, product differentiation, convenience, portability, reclosability and freshness protection.
Bag demand will increase at a lesser rate due to the maturing demand for such containers and the competition from pouches, Freedonia stated.
Paperboard food container demand will increase at a slower pace under competition from plastic alternatives and maturity in a number of applications.
Non-traditional food containers such as aseptic and retort cartons will gain a wider presence at the expense of metal cans, the firm forecasts.
Metal can containers will post margingal value growth, although the development of easy-opening and resealable tops will continue to make the material attractive to some segments of the foodmarket.
Unit expansion will be aided by the growing popularity of single serving packaging, such as plastic cups and pouches, meeting the demand for convenience and portability.
Kraft Foods this week cut its full-year earnings forecast due to high energy, packaging and other commodity costs. The company reducing its third-quarter earnings forecast by 11 per cent, citingthe rising cost of PET resin, used in plastic packaging. Plastic-related costs are Kraft's second-largest inputs after cheese.
Kraft said its energy and commodity costs rose by $200m in the third quarter, with year-to-date costs up by $600m. The company said such input costs are now expected to rise by $800m this fiscalyear, from an earlier estimate of $600m.
