A shift in the global packaging balance of power

While the global packaging and package manufacturing machinery markets have always been dominated by the United States and, to a lesser degree, western Europe, the migration of consumer product and package manufacturing to China, India, and the Far East—coupled with the emergence of vital support processes such as digital workflow—are making these regions a viable source for package production for the world market. So says a recently published study from Packaging Strategies called “Threat assessment of emerging packaging powerhouses.”

“Heavy investment in latest-generation equipment, processes, and skills development have created an expansive and determined geographic region rapidly emerging as the world’s packaging production workshop,” says Packaging Strategies director David Luttenberger. He believes this development is making eastern-hemisphere markets increasingly attractive to North American and European manufacturers of both converting and packaging equipment.

The new study from Packaging Strategies pinpoints the tactics, technologies, package materials, and markets that China, India, and 14 other developing manufacturing economies in the Far East are targeting in their quest to become world-class producers. The study also provides fact-based timetables for when the world can expect “spill-over” of excess capacity, and what the impact of exports will mean to the current and projected global balance in packaging production.

For a full prospectus or to order a copy of the $3꿃 study, call 610/436-4220; orders can be placed online at www.packstrat.com; click on Market/Technology Studies.