A new study from the Print Industries Market Information and Research Organization provides a detailed examination of both the overall North American converting and packaging printing industry and its four principal components: corrugated packaging, folding carton, flexible packaging and tag/label production.
According to the study, packaging printing and converting was a $68 billion industry in 2004, the study found, and is expected to grow to $83 billion by 2009. Growth rates in all sectors will match or exceed those of the overall national economy and the commercial printing industry.
Growth prospects given for the different sectors from 2004 to 2009 are: overall packaging printing & converting +22 per cent; folding carton +17 per cent; labels +30 per cent; corrugated +17 per cent; flexible packaging +25 per cent. Annual growth rates in these areas will range from three per cent for corrugated cartons to 5.7 per cent for labels.
Another key finding of the study is the type of equipment used to perform the work. Sheet-fed offset equipment is used in 81 per cent of the folding carton work, 53 per cent of rigid packaging, 32 per cent of tag and label, 12 per cent of corrugated work and 10 per cent of the flexible packaging work. The rise of hybrid machinery, suitable for both types of jobs in various run lengths and speeds, will most likely increase those percentages, the study says.
PRIMIR was formed by the merger of the Market Research Committee of NPES The Association for Suppliers of Printing, Publishing and Converting Technologies, and the Graphic Arts Marketing Information Service (GAMIS). Its mission is to streamline the planning and execution of vital industry research.
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