Page 12 - Packaging News magazine March_April 2023

INDUSTRY INSIGHT
Fibre packaging on the up
but not without challenges
Fibre-based packaging is seen as central to the green agenda in packaging, as many governments look to twin post-Covid economic recovery with ambitious mandates to reduce their impact on the environment. John Nelson, editor at Smithers, reports.
Sales of corrugated into e-commerce reached US$51.0 billion; 80.2% of the global total in that sales channel.
Corrugated board is easy to recycle and indeed the paper and pulp industry has long relied on recycled old corrugated containers (OCCs) as a feedstock for the
next generation of boxes.
There is new interest in devel- oping more consumer-facing corrugated retail packs. The most immediate application has been found in formats for retaining multipacks of FMCGs, especially heavier items such as beer, bottled water, or tinned goods. These pro- vide a more sustainable option to existing solutions, like wrap films or six-pack rings. This is techni- cally undemanding, corrugated is certainly strong enough. There is competition, however, from folding cartonboard or recycled plastic retaining fixtures; while in beer sales some brewers are using adhesives to simply stick
multi-sale packs together. Hallam adds, “Primary packag- ing is more of a challenge when substituting for plastics. Some work is progressing on coatings to improve moisture and water resistance to corrugated sheets, but the same technology is also often suitable for cartonboard, paper or moulded fibre materials.” There is a continuing trend for corrugated board towards light- weighting – reducing the physical mass without negatively affecting the strength of the packaging. The composite structure of corrugated cardboard makes this relatively easy in technical terms. It can be done by choosing different combinations of liners. This is allowing microflutes to challenge thicker folding carton
grades in some applications.
FOLDING CARTONS
Folding cartons – paper grades 0.3mm or thicker – are a mainstay of consumer packaging due to their ease of use, good print surface and convenient disposal. They repre- sent the second largest segment of the fibre-based packaging prod- ucts, both by volume and value.
Their versatility is boosted by the range of functional coatings
THE CURRENT AND future market outlook for such pack formats is examined, in detail, in a new study – The Future of Fibre-based Packaging to 2027 – from Smithers, the leading consultancy for the paper, plastics and packaging industry. Its exclusive data set, shared here, shows that in 2022 world consump- tion of corrugated, folding carton, liquid paperboard, flexible paper and moulded fibre packaging totalled 264.6 million tonnes in 2022. Total value in that year was US$425.3 bil- lion (A$621.2 billion).
Organic growth coupled with some format shifting will push combined world value up to $503.6 billion in 2027, equivalent to a 3.4% compound annual growth rate (CAGR). Volume consump- tion will increase slightly faster +3.6% CAGR to reach 316.4 mil- lion tonnes in 2027.
Australasia holds a modest share of this market, equivalent to 2.26 million tonnes in 2022, worth US$3.20 billion. Demand for these in the region will increase at a +2.6% cent CAGR (by value) faster than in any other developed market.
FIBRE FORMATS
Tom Hallam, project direc- tor, Packaging Consultancy at
Smithers, says: “Worldwide, sus- tainability is now a watchword across the packaging industry, it is increasingly a must-have for brands, rather than an ancil- lary benefit that only interests a minority of ethically switched- on consumers. Many brands have set tough ESG goals that they will need to meet by 2025 or 2030. How realistic or achiev- able these are is open to debate – but there is a clear priority to meet consumer expectations for greater recyclability. This is driv- ing new interest in swapping from plastics to paperboards, coupled with more R&D spending on coat- ings, application technologies, and moulded fibre.”
By both volume and value, the most significant fibre pack type is corrugated cardboard. Its CAGRs for 2022 to 2027 are projected at +3.5% by volume and +2.7% by value. Its overall proportion will decrease over the period due to faster growth rates for other prod- uct types, coupled with continued lightweighting of the board, which reduces volume consumption.
Higher growth rates will be seen in folding carton (CAGRs +4.6% and +4.7% by volume and value, respectively) and moulded
fibre (CAGR +5.0% by both volume and value); the growth of these products is driven by changing lifestyles and their effectiveness in replacing single-use plastics.
CORRUGATED GROWTH
The global pandemic has seen cor- rugated packaging take a higher profile. Globally the market was largely able to absorb the losses seen in transit shipment volumes with new sales in to direct-to- consumer e-commerce shipment.
There is a clear priority to meet consumer expectations for greater recyclability. This is driving new interest in swapping from plastics to paperboards.
TOM HALLAM, SMITHERS
12 ❙ MARCH – APRIL 2023
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