Metal packaging (2021)

With a long history behind it (in fact, one has to go back to the 1800s to find the first traces of it), metal packaging - in steel and aluminum - confirms good market positions. Numbers and trends 2021. 

Barbara Iascone
Istituto Italiano Imballaggio
 

Particularly suitable for storing food products for long periods of time, packaging made of steel (tinplate and thin sheet) and aluminum were among the few packaging types to record positive or stable results, respectively, even in 2020, confirming an upward trend in 2021. In fact, based on initial analysis, the category closes with production up about 4.6%, with 850 t/000 produced. Foreign trade sees a very sharp recovery in imports (+15.6%) while exports grow by +3.9%.

In this analysis we do not take into account the stock movement, which we assume played a decisive role in 2020-2021; reasoning therefore on apparent consumption, we can say that the domestic market was largely supported by both imports and domestic production.

On total metal packaging, the representativeness of the two types of materials changes depending on whether we are talking about quantities expressed in weight or turnover values. 
In the former case, steel packaging accounts for 86% of metal packaging produced in Italy, while aluminum packaging accounts for 14%. If we talk about representativeness expressed in value, the situation is reversed, as aluminum packaging accounts for as much as 65% of total metal packaging while steel packaging accounts for 35%.

Turnover in 2021 also shows a positive trend (+1%). The year of the pandemic and lockdown gave respite to the production of these packages: the close connection with the world of canned food, especially for steel packaging, was crucial. This influence was reconfirmed in 2021, to which was added the upswing in out-of-home consumption, which provided lifeblood to the types of packaging closest to the catering world.

Raw material quotations

With regard to the trend in the quotations of raw materials used to produce metal packaging, it should be noted that, in relation to steel, for some years now the Milan Chamber of Commerce has been quoting only scrap destined for production.

In the span of 2021, after the steady increase in prices recorded until July, there were sharp declines until October; since then prices have risen again, continuing with a gradual increase until May 2022. In general, average quotations for the year 2021 were more than 100% higher than average quotations for 2020.

Quotations for the raw material used to produce aluminum packaging saw a more gradual trend in 2021, tending to rise but without major jumps. It was not until the second quarter of 2022 that more pronounced declines were recorded. Average quotations for the year 2021 recorded rises of around 20% for virgin raw material and between 30% and 50% for scrap.

Steel packaging

Types and areas of use

According to the classification used in Packaging in Figures, steel packaging is divided into two macro-categories: tinplate light packaging and thin plate drums.

Tinplate packaging in turn is divided into three types of packaging: open top, general line and closures.

Open top packaging is used for packaging food products (peeled tomatoes, canned vegetables, tuna...). General line packaging are the cans used for chemical products (paints and varnishes, solvents, etc.) or for packaging edible oil, and, again, aerosol cans used in food and non-food.

The closures are crown caps and twist-off caps. Cylindrical or truncated-conical drums, on the other hand, are made from steel plate without tin coating, but protected by appropriate internal and external coating. They are characterized by capacities ranging from 50 to 300 liters, with a clear predominance of 200-liter ones. They are used both in the food area (for example, for moving tomatoes from the harvest field to processing or for oil) and in the non-food area (oil, fuels, etc.).

Size and characteristics of the Italian market

According to the first and not final elaborations, in 2021 the production of steel packaging will be around 729.5 t/000, registering an upward trend compared to 2020 of +5%.

As for foreign trade, the increase in imports is remarkable, closing the year with a trend growth rate of +14.6%, reaching around 56 t/000. Consider that 83% of imports are those related to light packaging, which alone grow by more than 12%. Exports grow by a more modest 3.3%.

• Light tinplate packaging - open tops, closures, small general line packaging - alone grew by 4%, and now accounts for about 83% of total steel packaging. The positive trend recorded the previous year was confirmed, and production benefited from the ongoing recovery in their main target sectors. The increase in light packaging production was mainly supported by the domestic market, which grew by 6.5% in 2021. The foreign market showed a much smaller and modest trend (+1.6%). Light tinplate packaging breaks down 61.6% into open top packaging, 18.7% is represented by general line, we then have closures, both capsules and crown caps, accounting for 10.9%. Closing the segmentation are canisters with 4.9% share and edible oil containers with 4.7%.

• In 2021, the area of steel drums expressed a production of 124,000 tons, growing significantly compared to 2020 with a trend of +10%, largely recovering the decline recorded in 2020. Both imports and exports show positive signs: +60% the former +15% the latter. About 70% of steel drums are used in the petroleum chemical sector and the remaining 30% are used in handling seeds, tomatoes, or transporting products for industry.

Aluminum packaging

Types and areas of use

These are various food and non-food containers: beverage cans, cans for canned food, trays, tubes, aerosol cans, and bottles (the latter used mainly in cosmetics). Thin aluminum foil and closures (screw caps, easy open, etc.) also fall into this category.

Size and characteristics of the Italian market

Aluminum for packaging production includes can stock (used in the production of beverage cans), foil stock (used to produce both thin foil and capsules), and can body (intended for food box bodies and tablets used in the production of cans).

The alloys that make up the different products are countless and vary according to types of production and different uses. In 2021, aluminum packaging also shows a good production trend, with the growth rate expected to be around +2.4%. Undoubtedly beating the pace of growth are containers. Supporting production were exports (+7.4%), but import performance was also excellent (+18%). apparent consumption is growing by +1.7%.

Regarding the production of empty aluminum packaging, let us recall that, in 2021, 33.3% is represented by containers, followed with 26.2% by “other,” where we include thin foil for yogurt closures, tubes, capsules for wine closures. A 17.8% share can be attributed to closures, while 16.1% goes to the food trays category.

Finishing the breakdown is thin foil with 6.6%. Analyzing the item “containers,” the packaging that stood out the most for good performance was beverage cans. And this, thanks to the recovery in out-of-home consumption but also because it was “adopted” in new areas, such as the packaging of small-format mineral water, which, in 2021, showed excellent signs of recovery with a double-digit growth rate. Based on elaborations derived from the Italian Packaging Institute’s Data Bank, which also analyzes the packaging mix trends of about 100 user sectors, the destination of aluminum containers is as follows: 66.7% beverage cans, 18% canned food, 14.5% pharmaceutical and cosmetic containers, and 0.8% “other.”