The packaging sector: data 2017

Jul 18, 2018

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The packaging sector, closely linked to the performance of manufacturing, is positively affected by the phenomena that have characterized the industrial area, bringing turnover in 2017 to exceed €32.5 billion, registering a growth of +2.5%.

Foreign trade is also on the up which - data referring to the first nine months of the year - will lead exports to grow, here too in terms of turnover, by 4% and imports by 6%. Despite the greater rise in imports, the trade balance continues to remain positive, exceeding 2.1 billion euros.

Raw material prices and production values
The average price quotations of the raw materials used to produce packaging are also growing.
• Tinplate shows an average rise of 13%, laminates 20%, while recycled material is up 35% compared to 2016.
• The average growth rate of aluminium prices is around 5.5% for virgin raw materials and 7% for recycled raw materials.
• Prices of raw materials used to produce cellulosic packaging have also risen: for corrugated cardboard an average growth of 9.6% is seen, +8% for the prices of the cellulose used to produce bags.
• Plastic polymer prices trends vary considerably: Nylon +30%, PET +25%, polystyrene +13%, PVC +8%. On the other hand, polyethylene is down, at 9%.
• After years of stability, the price of white glass cullet has increased by 3%.
• Similarly, the price of timber also increased in 2017, registering an average growth of 3%.

In some cases, increases in commodity prices may have led to increases in the prices of finished products.
In 2017, in the face of the increase in the quotations of the raw materials used to produce wooden packaging, price increases in pallets were registered. The same happened for other types of packaging, with the exception of aluminium packaging, where the increase in prices in both virgin raw material and that deriving from scrap were absorbed without affecting the final price of packaging.
In quantitative terms, analysing the tons of packaging produced in 2017, a growth of 3% is seen, bringing the production of empty packaging in Italy in excess of 16,300 t/000.
While on the one hand exports have found new vigour - in 2017 they grew by 4.6% - on the other hand Italian production is also being driven by domestic demand that should settle at a growth rate of around 2.7%. Imports also put in an increase, standing at 2.8%.
The constant development of small packaging formats, especially in the food sector, has allowed the packaging sector to register good trends. In addition to good industrial development, the packaging sector is positively influenced by the unstoppable growth in online sales, which obviously entails a greater use of transport and protective packaging.

Barbara Iascone
Istituto Italiano Imballaggio