Demand for extruded polystyrene (XPS) insulation is forecast to grow 4.7% per annum to 1.6 million metric tons in 2023, boosted by: • the rising popularity of prefabricated housing and insulated building panels, as XPS offers a high R-value at a lower cost than rigid board • gains in industrial and HVAC equipment production, as XPS is frequently installed in pipe and duct applications for its insulative properties • rising nonresidential construction activity, as XPS is commonly used in metal frame construction applications due to the ease with which it can be attached to metal panels or gypsum boards • higher global incomes that allow end users to upgrade to XPS from EPS, the lowest cost foamed plastic product

Global demand for excavators is forecast to advance 4.7% per year through 2023 to reach $54.8 billion. According to the new study Global Construction Machinery, growth will be supported by: • a trend toward more technologically advanced and more expensive models because of their higher fuel efficiency and their advanced information technology systems • advances in global building and nonbuilding construction • upcoming and recently implemented more stringent emissions standards that require the purchase of new, more expensive equipment

New pool and spa sales are expected to grow 3.5% per year to 4.9 million units in 2023. The Asia/Pacific region will account for 53% of new sales, supported by the key Chinese market, which itself will account for 22% of new pools and spas sold globally in 2023 due to rising incomes and related investment in recreational facilities, such as public swimming pools, aquatics facilities, and amusement parks.

Demand for electric power transmission and distribution equipment in India is forecast to rise 8.2% per year to $15.8 billion in 2023. A strong economy and further upgrades and expansion of the nation’s underdeveloped electricity sector – both to reduce the large amount of power currently lost during transmission and to improve access to electricity in rural areas – will provide strong opportunities for growth in the country, as consumers switch away from alternative sources of power such as generators.

Demand for cannabis product packaging is anticipated to reach $278 million in 2019, increasing 31% per year to $1.1 billion in 2024. Primary and secondary containers (e.g., jars, bottles, folding cartons) will continue to account for the largest share of packaging demand at 62% of sales in 2024.

Global demand for fiber cement is forecast to reach 31.8 million metric tons in 2023, according to The Freedonia Group’s new Global Fiber Cement study. While roofing and siding will remain the two largest applications for fiber cement going forward, their outlooks will differ.

The US and Western Europe will continue to drive expansion in the global power lawn and garden equipment market, which is forecast to grow 2.6% through 2023 to $26.4 billion.

As major drug makers from Johnson & Johnson to Purdue Pharma face mounting legal challenges for their role in the US opioid epidemic, suppliers of the $94 billion global pharmaceutical packaging industry are using innovation to comply with regulations aimed at preventing such crises in the future.

According to Industrial Fasteners, a new study from The Freedonia Group, the industrial fasteners market in the US is mature but still growing, at a rate of nearly 3% per year through 2023.

The corrugated box, the primary vessel of e-commerce delivery, has been instrumental to the gradual chipping away of brick-and-mortar’s dominance of retail over the past decade: durable to ensure that online orders arrive intact, lightweight to keep shipping costs down, and opaque to protect customer privacy and prevent theft. However, a number of packaging innovations – spurred in part by Amazon’s desire to boost e-commerce’s environmental profile while further reducing operating costs and increasing customer convenience – could mean the beginning of the end for the tried-and-true packaging format in e-commerce.