US demand for caps and closures will increase 4.9 percent annually to $9.6 billion in 2012, representing over 276 billion units. Gains will be bolstered by the popularity of value-added designs such as child-resistant closures (CRCs) and dispensing closures, with the latter offering increased convenience and controlled product release in numerous applications. Gains will be supported by the continuing growth of closureintensive plastic packaging at the expense of closureless containers like metal cans. Advances will be limited by competition from packaging formats that do not use closures, such as stand-up pouches and blister packs. The increasing use of peelable lidding rather than rigid lids in single-serving cups will also restrict expansion. These and other trends are presented in Caps & Closures, a new study from The Freedonia Group, Inc., a Cleveland-based industry research firm.
Plastic caps and closures are by far the largest industry segment and will expand at an above-average annual rate of 5.4 percent through 2012, benefiting from the ongoing supplantation of metal and glass containers by their plastic counterparts in many food and beverage applications. In addition, technological improvements have enabled certain plastic closures to replace metal closures on glass food containers. Moreover, gains will be helped by healthy expansion of synthetic corks in the wine market at the expense of natural corks. Metal cap and closure demand will remain virtually flat through 2012 as a result of inroads by plastics and declining shipments of beer, the dominant application for metal crowns. Rubber stopper demand will register the fastest gains, driven by rapid expansion in the pharmaceutical market as a result of growth in the older population segments, which tend to be the heaviest consumers of parenteral and other medications.
Representing 37 percent of the total market value, the beverage industry will continue to offer good prospects for caps and closures based on continued growth in the bottled water market, the increasing proliferation of single-serving drinks in plastic bottles and heightened use of higher-value dispensing closures that enhance convenience and on-the-go consumption. In the milk market, the shift from closureless cartons to plastic bottles for smaller sizes, particularly by schools and major quickservice restaurants, will boost related cap and closure demand. The pharmaceutical market will see the fastest gains of all markets, reflecting the shift to an older demographic.
| Corinne Gangloff phone: +1 440.684.9600 fax: +1 440.646.0484 pr@freedoniagroup.com |
