The US market research firm said in its report – titled ‘World Protective Packaging’, that growth will represent a significant improvement over the performance during the 2008-2013 period, when demand lagged in many of the largest protective packaging markets, including the US, Japan, and Western Europe.
Going forward, accelerating manufacturing activity in these regions, coupled with continued strong growth in internet retailing, will boost demand for nearly all types of protective packaging.
The Asia/Pacific region is expected to register the fastest growth in demand through 2018 (7.9% annual growth) due to the combination of its sizable manufacturing sector and the presence of several large, but still developing, economies.
Central & South America are also forecast to grow by almost 7% annually through this period.
According to analyst Mike Richardson, said: “China will remain the largest market in the region and post rapid advances even as its economic growth begins to decelerate from the remarkable pace of the past few decades.”
The Africa/Mideast region and Eastern Europe will also experience above average growth, with both expected to experience around 7.5% annual growth.
The report said advances will be below the global average in North America and Western Europe (4.7 and 4.1 respectively).
