North America Recycled Plastics Market

North America Plastic Packaging Market Analysis

The NA Plastic Packaging Market is expected to register a CAGR of 2.7% during the forecast period.

• The packaging industry in the North American region has undergone a drastic change in recent years, and the growth of e-commerce, along with innovations in digital printing, and sustainability are driving the market. Due to this, there has been an increased demand for sustainable, flexible packaging. For instance, according to the Flexible Packaging Association, more than 60% of consumers in North America are keen to pay more for tangible and functional packaging benefits, such as product protection, shipping friendly, and supply chain efficacy, among others.
• Flexible packaging is mainly used for food, which contributes to more than 60% of the total market. The US flexible packaging industry is witnessing healthy growth, as the industry was able to implement innovative solutions for the many packaging challenges it faced. According to the Flexible Packaging Association, brand owners are taking on films, pouches, and bags as a go-to packaging solution, acknowledgments in part to extensive acceptance by American consumers.
• The increased domestic demand for aluminum has led to an upsurge in aluminum foil imports from China, whose foil shipments to the United States increased almost 10-fold, valued at around 265 million pounds, in the last decade. Today, flexible packaging is mostly used for food, with the fastest areas of expansion being coffee, snack foods, fresh produce, ready-to-eat meals, and pet food.
• Canada is anticipated to witness a higher growth rate due to the growing adoption of innovative packaging techniques across numerous industries. Furthermore, the region has a flourishing retail industry that banks heavily on flexible packaging methods, being a global leader in the retail industry.
• The increasing popularity of packaging media in Canada, which provides long shelf life to finished food products, is driving the rigid packaging in the food and beverage industry in Canada. Moreover, the rising demand for convenience food and an increasing number of nuclear families is expected to further enhance the adoption of the rigid packaging market for food and beverages.

North America Plastic Packaging Market Trends

Food from end-user – flexible plastic packaging is expected to hold lagest share during the forecast period

• The food segment holds a prominent share of the market studied due to the rising demand for food services and the growing retail food business. The consumers in the region are increasingly becoming cautious about maintaining a healthy diet, which is transforming the time of fresh, healthy food being delivered to them, which, in turn, is expected to augment the demand for flexible food packaging.
• The FDA highly regulates the food industry in the country. The FDA regulates most packaged foods sold in the country and has specific requirements, such as what elements a package must contain, identity statement, net quantity, nutrition facts, and ingredients. The government body has a particular set of packaging rules based on food contact substances, irradiation of food and packaging, and environmental decisions.
• The FDA is developing an updated database of packaging factors (PFs) for food contact substance notifications (FCNs) that may include PFs for 550 food items. The development is in line with the push from various NGOs in the country to pull the FDA's approval of PFASs in food packaging.
• The demand for flexible packaging is rising due to the increase in exports of packaged foods. Processed food products from Canada are exported to 190 countries. A significant share of the products is exported to the United States, China, Japan, Mexico, Russia, and South Korea. According to StatCan, the export value of processed food products from Canada was CAD 28 billion.
• The country is also witnessing an increasing growth in its retail and food services sales. The demand for on-the-go consumption, and fast food, among others, is driving the growth of processed food, which, in turn, is boosting the flexible packaging market. According to the USDA Foreign, Agricultural Service studies 2019, the expected sales growth of packaged food in Canada between 2017 and 2022 may be driven by sweet biscuits, snack bars, and fruit snacks with 19.8% growth followed by spreads, edible oil, dairy with 15.8%, 13.8%, and 12.3% respectively. Additionally, according to the same study, the import of packaged food in 2018 was CAD 24.8 billion.
• In the recent past, US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) signed an arrangement with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) and the Department of Health Canada (Health Canada). The agreement is aimed at recognizing food safety systems and inspections. Thus, with the need to comply with packaging product quality standards of the FDA, Canadian manufacturers have sought to adopt enhanced packaging materials and systems for their products.
• Moreover, leading manufacturers of aluminium foil containers in the United States and Canada have formed an association, the Aluminium Foil Container Manufacturers Association (AFCMA), dedicated to producing top quality products and educating the public of the advantages of aluminium foil containers.

Canada is expected to hold the largest market

• Many consumers in Canada are increasingly moving toward eco-friendly packaging materials. As the usage of plastic and plastic products has potentially hazardous implications on the environment, governments in these countries have imposed very stringent rules and regulations in the industry, making it a relatively slower-growing industry compared to other materials.
• At the same time, Stewardship Ontario's "Plastic Is In" campaigns in municipalities are stimulating the supply of rigid plastic containers in curbside Blue Boxes. Ontario bottled water manufacturer Ice River Springs' Recycling Division uses a mix of PET bottles and supermarket shells to create 100% recycled bottles. It is one of the first working groups focused on packaging reduction and waste diversion, bringing together representatives from the packaging and waste management industries, government, universities, industry associations, and Walmart vendor partners.
• The Walmart Canada Packaging SVN launched the Sustainable Packaging Scorecard, which evaluates the sustainability of product packaging based on several criteria, such as material type and weight, product-to-package ratio, and cube utilization. They also collaborated with representatives of several other organizations to form the Material Optimization Committee, aimed at exploring how to improve recycling rates for packaging and increase the volume of waste diverted from landfills.
• With the increased focus on sustainability, companies are focusing on adopting eco-friendly and recyclable products. Each year, the Canadian plastics industry undertakes proactive outreach and program support to municipalities across Canada in order to increase the amount and types of plastics collected for recycling. Recycle BC is a not-for-profit organization responsible for residential packaging and paper product recycling throughout British Columbia.
• Komori and Komcan Inc. extended their presence in the Canadian packaging market by providing flexible packaging companies with machinery and equipment. For instance, Produlith Packaging replaced two competitive presses with the purchase of a six-color Komori Lithrone GX40 with coater (GLX640C) and H-UV ink curing system along with Komori's KP-Connect, a cloud-based technology for data-driven operations that offers real-time control of all printing processes.
• According to the recycling council of Ontario, Canada recycles about 9% of its plastics, with the rest dumped in landfills or tossed away as litter. Consumers in the country are increasingly moving toward recyclable food packaging materials and prefer brands that are responsible for their packaging that pushes the market for flexible packaging.
• In February 2020, major Canadian food and beverage packaging companies collaborated to develop a circular economy for plastic in the country. The companies are also innovating and developing flexible food packaging products in the region. For instance, in July 2019, ProAmpac achieved silver PAC Canadian leadership awards for designing the packaging for new children's snacks and the second for graphics innovation in flexible packaging for premier hair care products.

North America Plastic Packaging Industry Overview

The North America Plastic Packaging Market is highly competitive and has several major players. A few of the players enjoy better market goodwill and extended geographical recognition and presence. The major players, who have a relatively prominent share in the market, are focusing on expanding their customer base across the end-user industries.

• JUN 2020-Amcor partnered with Espoma Organic to innovate more sustainable packaging and launch a new bio-based polymer package. The polyethylene (PE) film contains 25% bio-based material derived, in this case, from sugarcane.
• SEP 2020- Amcor collaborated with Nestle to launch recyclable flexible retort pouches that will improve the environmental footprint of consumer packaging by up to 60%, starting with wet cat food. The new pouch meets the packaging guidelines for a circular economy recently published by the CEFLEX Consortium.

North America Plastic Packaging Market Leaders

North America Plastic Packaging Market News

• AUG 2020-Amcor joined the U.S. Plastics Pact, a collaborative, solutions-driven initiative to create a path forward to a circular economy for plastics in the United States by 2025.
• APR 2020-Amcor designed a family of stock polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles that help co-packers meet the demanding requirements for e-commerce-ready packaging.