Demand growth trend of U.S. printed packaging boxes in 2021

Reminder: A few days ago, Printing Impressions magazine released the "2021 Top 100 Printing Buyers in the US". This forecast-based list is important for us to understand the demand for printed packaging boxes in the US market

A few days ago, Printing Impressions magazine released the "2021 Top 100 Printing Buyers in the United States". This forecast-based list is of great value for us to understand the changes in demand for printing packaging in the US market.

Demand for printed packaging boxes is growing again

The list shows that in 2021, the top 100 printing packaging box buyers in the United States are expected to purchase US$54.211 billion of printing packaging boxes, a year-on-year increase of 2.66%, accounting for 28.7% of the total US printing packaging box demand of US$138.768 billion.

Among them, the total demand for printed packaging boxes of the top 10 printing packaging box buyers is expected to be US$12.362 billion, an increase of 13% year-on-year, accounting for 22.7% of the 100 companies, and the proportion has further increased.

It should be pointed out that the US$138.768 billion in total demand for printed packaging boxes in the U.S. predicted in 2021 is a lot less than the US$205.606 billion in the 2020 list. This also reflects the impact of factors such as the new crown pneumonia epidemic to a certain extent. The impact of demand for printed packaging in the US market.

New changes in the field of subdivided packaging boxes

Although the new crown pneumonia epidemic, the doubling of the national debt and election anxiety have brought shocks to the US economy, behind this, the top 100 US printing and packaging box buyers also have some new changes. The most obvious packaging area is multiple logistics/ Freight entities form an oligopoly.

In addition, among the top 100 printing packaging box buyers, the health and food/beverage sectors have the highest demand for printed packaging boxes, at 26.2% and 18.2% respectively. These two areas account for more than one-fifth of the market for labels and packaging.

In the list, the printing and packaging demand of the top 25 companies accounted for nearly half of the total printing demand of the top 100 printing packaging box buyers, and may exceed 1/6 of the total printing packaging demand in the United States. Moreover, the growth of overall printed packaging boxes will be concentrated in the food, medical/pharmaceutical and safety/security fields. The catering service sector that has been plagued by the epidemic can only recover at most 2/3 of its previous scale.

The areas most permanently affected will be commercial and retail real estate (expected to decline by 28%), and any activities that rely on imports or foreigners. The demand for printed packaging boxes in fashion, tourism/hotel and high-end areas may drop by 1/4 or more.

The top 10 printing box buyers have changed a lot

In general, the top 10 companies in this list are basically the same as the 2020 list.

A year later, U.S. POSTAL SERVICE replaced AT&T in the United States to return to the top; PFIZER INC., ULINE and MCDONALD’S CORP. fell out of the top 10, while WALMART, AMAZON and 3M CO. entered the top 10 instead.

Below, let us focus on the analysis of the top 10 companies in this list and their competitors in the same field in 2021.

The list shows that the US Postal Service will become the largest buyer of printed packaging boxes in history and return to the top position. According to forecasts, in 2021, the U.S. Postal Service's operating income will be 71.2 billion U.S. dollars, an increase of 6% year-on-year; the demand for printed packaging boxes will reach 1.878 billion U.S. dollars, an increase of 33%. Priority mail, parcels, and international mail and transportation services will stand out in the next two years.

In contrast, another logistics giant, FEDEX CORP., ranked 21st with a demand for printed packaging boxes of US$800 million and a growth rate of 27%; UPS ranked 40th, with a demand for printed packaging boxes of 5.56 Billion US dollars, down 9% year-on-year.

  PEPSICO INTERNATIONAL ranked second with printing demand of US$1.597 billion, and demand for printing packaging boxes increased by more than 40% year-on-year. Benefiting from the increased time at home caused by the epidemic, Pepsi International’s snacks and soft drink sales have grown, coupled with the acquisition of alternative brands and alcoholic beverage brands, making it a demander of large flexible packaging, metal packaging boxes and retail outlets.

This success is largely at the expense of the decline in demand for 11% of its competitor, COCA-COLA COMBINED, ranked 48th. In 2021, the Coca-Cola Company's demand for printed packaging boxes is expected to be US$475 million.

WALT DISNEY CO. occupies the last position of the top three. In 2021, the Walt Disney Company's demand for printed packaging boxes was US$1.343 billion, an increase of 42.09% year-on-year.

The fourth-ranked company is AT&T of the United States, which once topped the list with printing demand of US$1.392 billion in the 2020 list. In 2021, its demand for printed packaging boxes was US$1.224 billion, a year-on-year decrease of 12%. At the same time, AT&T's total operating income is expected to fall by 7%. The company is cutting discretionary costs, including printing packaging, and terminating its creative positions in the entertainment business on the east and west coasts of the United States.

 JOHNSON&JOHNSON ranked fifth. In 2021, the company's demand for printed packaging boxes is expected to be 1.185 billion US dollars, a year-on-year increase of 17%. Johnson & Johnson promised to produce the new coronavirus vaccine on a "non-profit basis", but with it the increase in packaging costs. In 2021, Johnson & Johnson’s demand for labels and packaging will exceed US$900 million, and its consumer health products, especially sanitary and protective products, will continue to grow by more than 20%.

 Pfizer Pharmaceuticals, which is in the same pharmaceutical field as Johnson & Johnson, ranked seventh in the 2020 list, only ranked 15th in the 2021 list, and its printed packaging box demand was US$910 million, a year-on-year decrease of 9 %. Not long ago, the new coronavirus vaccine launched by Pfizer Pharmaceuticals was pushed into the hot search. It is reported that the vaccine can prevent 90% of new coronavirus infections and is expected to be widely promoted at the end of this year and early next year. It remains to be seen whether it can bring about an increase in the demand for printed packaging boxes.

  PROCTER&GAMBLE ranks sixth, which has increased by two rankings compared to 2020. Its demand for printed packaging boxes in 2021 was US$1.039 billion, a year-on-year increase of 5%. In the post-epidemic era, people pay more attention to hygiene, which also provides a lot of good news for the increase in demand for P&G printing packaging boxes.

WALMART has risen from the 27th place in 2020 to the 7th place in 2020, which is the highest increase among the top 10. In 2021, Wal-Mart's demand for printed packaging boxes is expected to be US$910 million, a year-on-year increase of 57%. This traditional large supermarket was not affected by the epidemic, but its e-commerce revenue increased by 73%. In contrast, its competitor COSTCO's demand for printed packaging boxes has dropped by 7%, ranking 52nd with only $490 million.

APPLE INC. dropped two places and came to No. 8, and it was also the only electronic company in the top 10. Although the iphone12 mobile phone has been upgraded in many functions and the market response has been good, it is subject to the extension of the replacement cycle caused by the epidemic and the reduction of Apple packaging boxes. In 2021, Apple's printed packaging box demand was US$913 million, year-on-year Last year it dropped by nearly 4%.

Retailer Amazon ranked 9th, rising 2 places. Its demand for printed packaging boxes in 2021 will rise by 5% to US$993 million. According to analysts, Amazon will soon become the fourth largest direct delivery carrier and carton manufacturer in the United States, and its Internet-based cross-border development capabilities are still attracting attention.

In addition, in this list, FCA FIAT CHRYSLER AMERICA ranked 100th with a demand for printed packaging boxes of US$215 million.

Conclusion: Although the demand for printed packaging boxes in the United States will generally decrease in 2020, the demand for printed packaging boxes from the top ten companies is still growing rapidly. It is expected that the demand for printed packaging boxes in the United States will grow rapidly in 2021.