Plastics for Barrier Packaging

Report Highlights

• The U.S. packaging barrier resin market reached 8 billion pounds in 2007. It is expected to reach 10.7 billion pounds by the end of 2012, a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5.8%.
• The largest market for barrier packaging is food and beverage packaging, which accounts for more than 95% of applications in the U.S.
• Other important markets include chemical/industrial products packaging and healthcare products packaging.

INTRODUCTION

This report is an update of a BCC report on this subject by the same author, published in June 2005 and completed some months before that date. In this update, we have reevaluated the entire subject, introduced some new barrier packaging concepts and products that have appeared in the intervening period, and have updated and polished our market analyses, estimates, and forecasts for 5 additional years into the future.

Despite the fact that much of the basic technology of barrier plastics is the same, we found that progress continues to have been made in the years since the last BCC report on this subject. On the other hand, some relatively "hot" projects and subjects featured in the last report appear to have become less positive. This appears to be especially true with plastic packaging for beer, which was the subject of considerable attention in the last report, with several new technologies unveiled and promoted. Beer is a very difficult product to package because of its high sensitivity to rapid taste degradation from exposure to oxygen. At this time, at least in the United States, barrier polyethylene terephthalate (PET) beer bottles have not shown that they can give the shelf life that glass and aluminum can provide, except for short shelf life beer for sports events and the like.

Others developments prominently featured in the last report, such as increasingly more sophisticated multilayer barrier packaging structures and controlled/modified atmosphere packaging for fresh produce and other fresh foods, continue to grow in importance and usage, and these fields are updated here.

SCOPE OF STUDY

This report contains:

• Descriptions of various barrier resins including EVOH, PCTFE, fluoropolymer, nitrile copolymers, nylons, thermoplastic polyesters, PVdC, tie-layer resins and vapor-permeable films.
• The current market status for plastics for barrier packaging, with trends and forecasts for growth over the next 5 years
• Technological issues including the latest trends and a thorough patent analysis
• Discussion of environmental, regulatory and public policy issues that affect barrier plastic packaging
• Analysis of international aspects of the barrier resin industry, including foreign-owned supply companies operating in the United States.

METHODOLOGY AND INFORMATION SOURCES

Extensive searches were made of the literature and the Internet, including many of the leading trade publications as well as technical compendia and government publications. Much product and market information was obtained, whenever possible, from principals involved in the industry. Information for our corporate profiles was obtained primarily from the companies, especially larger, publicly owned firms. Other sources included directories, articles, and Internet sites.

ANALYST CREDENTIALS

Dr. Charles Forman has over 50 years of chemical engineering and business experience in private business, the healthcare industry and at a major not-for-profit educational association. He is an expert on the worldwide chemical process industries, with specialization in healthcare, petroleum and petrochemicals, specialty and agrichemicals, plastics, and packaging. He has written many market research reports for BCC Research on subjects including polymers and plastic packaging, petroleum processing, healthcare policy and products, food and feed additives, chemicals/petrochemicals/specialty chemicals, pesticides, and biotechnology.