North American Oriented Films Industry Moves East
GUILSBOROUGH, UK—July 9, 2013—There was a time when North American owned film producers led the world in terms of production capacity and product development in bi-oriented films but today the industry is now largely in the hands of Asian owners, according to leading consultants to the industry, PCI Films Consulting.
Representing just 8.5 percent of total world film extrusion capacity in 2012 for BOPP, BOPET and BOPA films, North American oriented film producers have been slow to invest for some time and are now unable to fulfill the region’s domestic needs resulting in increasing volumes of North America’s demand for oriented films being met by imports.
As a result, much of the domestic film extrusion capacity is of an age that requires significant investment in order to compete with the imports from low cost producers in other markets. It is not surprising therefore that some U.S. owners have decided to withdraw from the market, rather than make the necessary investment, but where does this leave their customers?
In its latest report, ‘North American Oriented Films Supply Outlook,' PCI outlines the changes currently affecting capacity in the North American oriented films market compared to the region’s demand. With forecasts to 2017, the report provides valuable insight into how the future market might look in terms of capacity, production, trade and demand.
Report author Simon King commented on the supply situation by stating, “The North American market should be an attractive market to do business in. It has a growing flexible packaging marketplace which requires significant quantities of BOPP, BOPET and BOPA films and there is no reason why a production facility in the U.S. can’t be competitive. After all two Indian and a Chinese company think the market is worthy of investment. North American producers should be showing their commitment to their customers and planning for the long term.”
To understand how the emerging North American supply situation might affect your business, please visit www.pcifilms.com.
About PCI
PCI Films Consulting, part of the PCI group of companies, offers an extensive range of consulting services to those involved in the production and use of flexible packaging materials. The company produces dedicated Quarterly Business Reports and Regional Supply/Demand Reports for the polyester and polypropylene film and flexible packaging markets. The company also provides specialist ad-hoc research and planning to the industry and its advisors.
Source: PCI.





