Technavio Announces Top Three Trends for the Corrugated Box Market in the US Through 2020

LONDON--()--Technavio’s latest corrugated box market in the US report highlights three key emerging trends predicted to impact market growth from 2016-2020. Technavio defines an emerging trend as something that has potential for significant impact on the market and contributes to its growth or decline.

“Growing demand from the e-commerce market landscape is anticipated to drive the demand for corrugated boxes until 2020. The growing e-commerce market has resulted in an increase in demand for corrugated boxes for shipment of the products. In 2015, though the overall economic growth rate slowed down in the region, the online retail sales growth outpaced some major markets such as the US and Europe because of the increase in online shopping. The ease of online shopping has led many consumers to switch from the traditional brick-and-mortar stores,” said Sharan Raj, one of Technavio’s lead industry analysts for packaging.

“The demand for packaging products primarily paperboard and corrugated boxes surges during peak holiday season in the US, between November and December, as Christmas is the biggest commercial holiday in the US. It is estimated that, the US total retail sales (excluding automobiles and gas) grew by 7.9% during the traditional Black Friday to Christmas Eve shopping season in 2015,” added Sharan.

Technavio’s market research study identifies the following three emerging trends expected to propel the growth of the corrugated box market in the US:

  • Demand for innovative lightweight materials
  • Need for premium packaging
  • Growing preference for sustainable packaging solutions

Demand for innovative lightweight materials

Vendors are providing high-performance, light-weight corrugated, and containerboard grades because of cost reduction, improving performance, and environmental concerns. For instance, in 2014, MWV Rigesa (now WestRock) launched the HyPerform line of Kraftliner and fluting papers that are more tamper-resistant and have a lower basis weight. These products are eco-friendly, with a reduction of 10% in greenhouse gas emissions and up to 61% in water consumption.

MeadWestvaco Rigesa (WestRock) also acquired a new paper machine that uses the most advanced technology for the production of Kraftliner paper, to provide innovative products. Mondi, an international packaging company, invested in the recycled containerboard machine ECO7, which produces cost-effective and lightweight liners and flutings, with an annual production capacity of 470,000 tons. Earlier, Mondi introduced ProVantage, a high fiber containerboard made from recycled fiber, which is lightweight and provides high strength packaging. In 2015, Mondi showcased its kraft portfolio of high-quality containerboard grades suitable for various packaging end users such as the chemical and pharmaceutical.

Need for premium packaging

The increasing demand for premium packaging, especially for premium consumer products such as cosmetics and other household items, is mainly attributed to the developed and mature US market. Premium packaging is a basic indication of the high quality of the product inside. Vendors use expensive ingredients, technologies, colors, and other raw materials to develop premium packs. Many consumers also buy these products as gifts, thereby driving the demand for premium packaging in the market.

Corrugated boxes are used as effective marketing strategies for various categories like retail boxes, and point of purchase display boxes. Unlike traditional corrugated boxes, the market has witnessed the trend of using printed designed small corrugated boxes at the point of sale in retail stores. Retail giants such as Walmart are using this form of packaging in the premium brand segment to improve marketing activities. These boxes are placed at the point of sale to attract consumers.

Growing preference for sustainable packaging solutions

Consumer product manufacturers prefer eco-friendly packaging materials as they promote sustainability. Paper can be recycled up to seven times, which gives corrugated manufacturers an advantage over other packaging product manufacturers. Therefore, manufacturers are focusing on producing 100% recyclable corrugated boxes. For instance, in 2015, Mondi Containerboard launched eco-friendly ProVantage Kraftliner Aqua and ProVantage Fluting Aqua paper grades using high-quality containerboard paper grades. These are water-resistant and eco-friendly.

Corrugated boxes are considered an environmentally-friendly and sustainable form of packaging compared to other forms of packaging, such as plastics. These boxes are made of recycled material; almost 46% of the materials used in packaging are recycled. This helps corrugated boxes manufacturers to reduce the environmental cost, thus providing sustainability to the environment.

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Technavio is a leading global technology research and advisory company. The company develops over 2000 pieces of research every year, covering more than 500 technologies across 80 countries. Technavio has about 300 analysts globally who specialize in customized consulting and business research assignments across the latest leading edge technologies.

Technavio analysts employ primary as well as secondary research techniques to ascertain the size and vendor landscape in a range of markets. Analysts obtain information using a combination of bottom-up and top-down approaches, besides using in-house market modeling tools and proprietary databases. They corroborate this data with the data obtained from various market participants and stakeholders across the value chain, including vendors, service providers, distributors, re-sellers, and end-users.

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Contacts

Technavio Research
Jesse Maida
Media & Marketing Executive
US: +1 630 333 9501
UK: +44 208 123 1770
http://www.technavio.com/
media@technavio.com

Release Summary

Technavio’s latest corrugated box market in the US report highlights three key emerging trends predicted to impact market growth from 2016-2020.

Contacts

Technavio Research
Jesse Maida
Media & Marketing Executive
US: +1 630 333 9501
UK: +44 208 123 1770
http://www.technavio.com/
media@technavio.com