Global Packaging Machinery Report

Report Overview

Surging Demand for Sophisticated Packaging Technologies to Fuel Growth

Key themes covered in this report:

• Intensifying competition, workforce challenges, and new regulations to drive demand for advanced packaging equipment around the world.
• Rising manufacturing sector mechanization rates and increasing foreign participation will bolster market gains in industrializing nations.
• Government initiatives designed to modernize manufacturing sectors and promote technological innovation will be a key driver of growth worldwide.

Featuring 151 Tables & 89 Figures!

Global demand for packaging machinery was $64.1 billion in 2024. Demand is projected to increase more than 6% per year through 2029, driven by:

• increasing global durable and nondurable goods manufacturing activity, and the construction of new factories
• rising manufacturing sector mechanization rates in developing areas, and the significant packaging equipment replacement needs of mature markets
• the adoption of new regulations, growing concerns about the environmental impact of manufacturing, and the intensification of workforce issues, which will generate demand for advanced packaging technologies

Additionally, governments around the world will also continue to actively support the development of their manufacturing sectors and promote technological innovation, as exemplified by Indonesia’s Making Indonesia 4.0 Roadmap.

Developing & Mature Markets Driving Demand Growth in the Asia/Pacific Region

The Asia/Pacific region will account for nearly half of global market gains, supported by the performance of both its burgeoning and mature markets:

• China, the largest global market for packaging machinery, is expected to see healthy growth as its massive manufacturing industry continues to increase its output.
• Developing markets such as India, Indonesia, and Thailand will experience strong growth as industrial output rises and their respective governments support the development of their manufacturing sectors.
• Japan, South Korea, and other mature regional markets will focus on replacing existing equipment, much of which will include advanced packaging technologies.

Operating Costs & Workforce Challenges Drive Use of Automated Packaging Technologies

Rising operating costs, worsening workforce challenges (compounded during the historical period by the pandemic), and intensifying competition are leading manufacturers to increasingly purchase packaging machinery that features automation technology. This technology makes them more productive, efficient, and versatile than predecessors. The adoption of new regulations – such as restrictions on packaging material waste – will continue to support the shift to autonomous machines as well.

Global Packaging Machinery Report Details

Key Companies in the Global Packaging Machinery Industry

Global Packaging Machinery Report Scope

This study analyzes global supply and demand for packaging machinery, defined as machinery used to package goods. Types of machinery within the scope of the study include:

• filling equipment (including stand-alone filling machines and integrated form-fill-seal equipment, which are available in both horizontal and vertical units)
• case forming, packing, and sealing machinery
• labeling and coding machinery
• wrapping equipment (including horizontal, vacuum, skin, and stretch film wrappers), bundling equipment, and palletizing equipment (including palletizing, depalletizing, and pallet unitizing machinery)
• other types of packaging machinery (such as accumulators, collators, and feeders; bottling and canning line equipment; cartoning machines and inspecting, detecting, and checkweighing equipment)
• packaging machinery parts, including:
  • bearings
  • belts
  • chains
  • connectors
  • feeders
  • heating elements
  • knives
  • power units
  • pulleys
  • sensors
  • temperature indicators
  • wire

Machinery that is used to manufacture packaging products, rather than to package end use products, is excluded from the scope of this study.

Also excluded from the scope of the study are certain products sometimes considered to be packaging machinery, including converting equipment (like blow molders, can making machinery, extruders, and other equipment used to form packages – except where they are integral parts of packaging machines such as form-fill-seal equipment) and associated line equipment like conveyors. Used packaging machines of all types and related services such as equipment rebuilding, retrofitting, and systems integration are excluded from the scope.

For the purposes of this study, packaging equipment or packaging systems that perform multiple functions are classified by their primary function. For example, a form-fill-seal machine that also includes a labeling system is counted as a form-fill-seal machine, with labeling considered a secondary function.

Demand is also analyzed by the following markets:

• food
• beverage
• pharmaceuticals and personal care products
• chemicals
• other markets (nondurable manufacturing industries, durable manufacturing industries, transportation and distribution companies, contract packagers, and other service providers)

Data from the US Census Bureau were consulted in the preparation of this study and a list of related codes is presented here for informational purposes. However, these codes may not include all products covered in this report or may exclude some products of interest and the data have thus been adjusted accordingly.
 

Global Packaging Machinery Industry Growth Factors

Trends in the global packaging equipment market are affected by the following factors:

• The manufacturing sector is a critical component of every economy and among the first to develop.
• The US and China – by far the two largest packaging machinery markets – together account for about half of global demand and have an outsized effect on global trends.
• Replacement product sales are the primary driver of growth in most countries that have with established manufacturing industries.
• Packaging equipment – when properly maintained – has a long lifespan, though there is little aftermarket for used equipment, which is both commonly outdated and difficult to retrofit to other applications.

Other factors that have an impact on global packaging equipment market growth include:

• economic conditions, levels of international trade and foreign investment, and fixed investment spending trends
• changes in the value of a country’s currency
• changes in manufacturing, with trends in the food, beverage, pharmaceuticals, and chemicals industries being of particular importance
• the increasing or decreasing availability of new packaging equipment and changes in equipment prices
• the introduction of new packaging technologies, which can spur both new and replacement machinery sales
• the adoption of new product, health, and safety standards, and environmental regulations (e.g., restrictions on the use of plastics)

Countries with developing manufacturing bases frequently see prolonged periods of growth as operators as they:

•  continue to ramp up production
• begin to use the equipment more intensively
• shift toward more capable, pricier models

Replacement sales are a smaller driver of gains in these markets because their stocks of equipment are quite small and relatively new.