Exploring Opportunities in Global Print, Packaging
RESTON, VA—December 20, 2013—At the PRIMIR 2013 Winter Meeting held in Chicago on December 9-11, participants gathered to hear presentations about recent research results from three new studies in advance of the highlights that will be distributed to both PRIMIR and NPES members early in 2014.
First, in an overview of the updated landmark “World-wide Market for Print: Identifying Global Opportunities for the Print Industry” study, Alex Chan, Senior Consultant for the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), shared crucial findings with attendees. Among highlights from the data presented in the study, he reported that as of 2012 the global print market was $578.6 billion U.S. and by 2017 is forecast to grow to $668.6 billion U.S. However, by 2017 China is forecast to become the largest print market nudging the U.S. into second place. (See figure at right.)
Key drivers of change for print markets worldwide include the global economic recovery; increasing incomes and consumption, especially with reference to emerging economies; increasing population; rising literacy and the growth of digital technologies. In the second presentation titled “Packaging in Emerging Markets,” attendees heard from LPC Inc., who conducted research for PRIMIR about the markets in Latin America and the Asia-Pacific region, and shared insights into which are prime targets for PRIMIR and NPES members’ products and services.
Focusing on four key countries within those regions, LPC noted that in 2012 Brazil, Mexico, India and China accounted for 28 percent of the $234.4 billion global packaging market. By 2017, with a total global market of $288.5 billion, those four countries’ share will increase to 35 percent of the total. Much of this market share is directly attributed to the drivers of change also noted in the “World-wide Market for Print” study with increased wealth/increased consumption leading the way.
According to the LPC study, China exports more printed packaging than any other emerging market in the world and is the second largest packaging market in the world. China’s growth is dually fueled by domestic consumption and the country’s prowess in exporting goods.
The PRIMIR Winter Meeting’s closing presentation focused on another soon to be published PRIMIR study entitled, “UV/EB Curing Technologies in Printing,” from which Marco Boer, VP, I.T. Strategies, shared findings from their research with printers/converters, manufacturers and brand owners. The study indicates that in 2012 the total global analog equipment and supplies revenues were $37 billion worldwide, of which 15 percent were UV- and EB-related.
Boer stressed that UV/EB industry participants play a key role in increasing utilization of these curing technologies by educating the industry and brand owners on the benefits of UV/EB curing. Printers/converters who have implemented these curing technologies report both customer and operational benefits including fewer quality concerns, increased productivity and turnaround time, and quantifiable production cost savings.
In concluding, Boer noted that the energy-curing market is a high-value market but there are many players who are often at conflict. The report notes this will remain a high-value “specialty” market until education, standardization, consolidation and/or cooperation between all industry players comes to the forefront.