Wood packaging – Data 2016

The numbers on a sector that produces a wide variety of containers indispensable to moving goods in diverse manufacturing sectors: industrial packaging, pallets, crates, casks, boxes and corks.

Estimates are that some 2,057 wood packaging producers are operating in Italy, including raw material suppliers. 67% of operators in this sector are based in northern Italy, 13.5% in central Italy and 19.5% in the south of the country, including Sardinia and Sicily.
Approximately 12% of wood packaging producers are specialists in the production of crates and boxes for fresh fruit and vegetables, while 49% are pallet builders and 39% are active in industrial packaging.
The segment also includes suppliers of raw materials needed to produce wood packaging, as well as importers of empty packaging.
Operators that repair pallets also fall under this category.
Wood packaging, which is monitored by Istituto Italiano Imballaggio, can be broken down into three types: industrial packaging (large crates for transport of machinery and equipment, boxes for high end wine and spirits, spools and crates for cables, cork stoppers...), crates for fish and produce, and pallets.

Preliminary 2016 data compared with 2015 numbers
The earliest data on 2016 performance of this sector, supplied by Istat, indicate that there was an increase in production of some 4%. This growth was driven mainly by non-standard pallets.
As for foreign trade, analysis of the Istat data reveals that imports probably grew by 6%, while exports rose 5%.
In 2015, 2,408 t/000 of wood packaging was produced (+0.8% compared to 2014); exports fell 5%, while imports grew by 18%. Apparent use rose by 3.6%, while the sector’s overall turnover increased by 5.2%.

Pallets. National apparent consumption grew by 2.2% in 2015, driven in particular by rising imports (+23%).
Exports went up 2.6%, while production dropped slightly. The market shares of pallet outlet sectors break down as follows:
- beverage and liquid food (condiments) 19%;
- food 21.9%;
- non-food consumer goods 19.7%;
- chemical products for industry 4.7%;
- other non-food (electric appliances, apparel, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, household products, etc.) 34.7%

Industrial packaging. Over 75% of packaging of this type is used primarily in mechanical engineering, electro-mechanical systems, spare parts, etc. The remaining 25% includes a wide range of product types including braces for tubing, cable spools, various types of boxes for wines and spirits, and cork stoppers.
Output rose by 6.2% in 2015, while both exports and imports fell. Domestic consumption increased 8%.

Crates. 93% of crates are used for fresh fruit and vegetables; seafood and plants account for the remaining 7%.
In terms of wood packaging consumption, transport of fresh fruit and vegetables involves two packaging types: bins and crates. The former are used to carry the produce from the farms to the storage centers, while the latter are used at the point of purchase (open air markets, green grocers and supermarkets).
In 2015, production of wood crates amounted to 238 t/000 (+6.2%). Their look has been enhanced significantly in recent years, and they now serve important communication functions.    

Plinio Iascone
Istituto Italiano Imballaggio