2021 tin box printing ink sales will exceed 7.5 billion US dollars

Reminder: The sales of tin box printing inks will continue to grow, driven by the United States, China, India, and major European economies. According to "Ink World" estimates, tin box printing ink sales will increase by 12% in 2021

      Driven by the United States, China, India and major European economies, sales of tin box printing inks will continue to grow. According to "Ink World" estimates, tin box printing ink sales will increase by 12% in 2021. Looking at the world's top international tin box printing ink suppliers, four of the world's seven largest tin box printing ink suppliers-DIC Corporation, Toyo Ink Group, Sakata Ink and T&K Toka are headquartered in the United States and Japan. Hubergroup is the sixth largest tin box printing ink supplier in the world and the largest ink manufacturer in India.

   The United States and China are the largest tin box demand markets, while Japan and India are the main tin box printing ink producers. In addition, the demand for tin boxes in South Asia, Southeast Asia and Europe is also growing steadily. But the COVID-19 outbreak is changing everything. Although the supply chain has been disrupted, the demand for tin box packaging ink is actually on the rise.

COVID-19 and tin box printing ink manufacturer

COVID-19 has affected the tin box packaging industry and the printing ink industry in many ways.

Masamichi Sota, Executive Officer of the General Printing Material Product Division of "DIC Enterprise" said: "The graphic arts tin box packaging market in the Asia-Pacific region has performed well throughout the first quarter of 2020. But since the last week of March, our performance has been declining. We also found that although some countries in the Asia-Pacific region have been severely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, other markets have been less affected. We have seen that countries that have imposed lockdowns have more impact on the tin box printing ink market. Other countries are bigger. For example, countries such as India, Malaysia, the Philippines and Pakistan have the most influence. However, since Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam are still open, these countries have less influence."

Katsuya Tanaka, general manager of the international operations department of the "Sakata Ink" Planning Department, said: "China's tin box packaging plants are currently operating as usual. Throughout Asia, due to the "stay at home" requirements for COVID-19, tin box packaging needs There has been an increase, and the transportation volume of tin box packaging ink has increased."

The hubergroup’s Asian corporate communications team reported that “COVID-19 has further changed the tin box packaging industry. The tin box packaging sector for offset printing, UV and liquid inks continues to grow. Demand for newspaper inks and sheet-fed commercial printing is declining, and it seems that It won't get better anytime soon."

"The tin box packaging business in Europe and the United States has had a significant impact on demand (declining commercial demand) and supply (labor, materials, and transportation are hindered at different times in different countries in the region),"

Hubergroup’s corporate communications team noted, “Logistics is still a challenge, which leads to a shortage of raw materials and has a certain impact on delivery. As we all know, printing ink is an important part of tin box packaging, such as food, medicine, hygiene Part of important commodities. The current special circumstances also enable the tin box printing ink company to maintain a certain level of operation even in the event of a severe shutdown."

Ashish Pradhan, President of Siegwerk India and Greater China, said: "The COVID-19 pandemic has two major effects on tin box printing inks.

On the one hand, we have seen the impact on the supply side. In the face of government restrictions, labor shortages, and challenges in the logistics of raw materials and finished products, ink companies are facing difficulties in maintaining business operations.

On the other hand, we have seen the impact on demand. Due to similar challenges faced by Siegwerk and other ink manufacturers, tin box printers and brand owners are still trying to stabilize their operations and are still responding to declining demand. "

Hirofumi Ozaki, department manager of T&K Toka’s overseas department, pointed out, “The COVID-19 border measures implemented in many countries have had a significant impact on the supply chain. Due to the interruption in the supply of materials and restrictions on the movement of workers, many of our customers have been forced to suspend or Restricted operations, due to the decline in tin box packaging demand, ink sales have slowed down significantly."

"From the second quarter of 2020, due to the blockade of each country, the sales of tin box printing inks have dropped by 20%-30%, or even more." Charlie Lee, team leader of the overseas sales department of DEERS I / Daihan tin box printing inks Said: "In the United States, Germany, France, South Korea, the packaging and printing industry has been affected, so the printing industry has also been destroyed."

Jason Lee, CEO and President of Kwang Myung Ink Co., Ltd. reported that COVID-19 has had a significant impact on the global tin box printing and publication market. "We now expect the decline in the publication market to accelerate, but we think the packaging market will rebound and show further growth. We also do see signs of recovery in the packaging market. In response to this situation, we are expanding our product range, To include complete thermosetting, cold curing, UV-LED and low migration inks.

Before COVID-19, the global tin box printing ink market performed well, with the metal packaging industry showing an upward trend and publication printing showing a downward trend. Pradhan said: "In most parts of the Asia-Pacific region, like the rest of the world, demand for publication printing has stagnated or even declined."

"In 2021, tin box packaging printing will see further growth in Asia, with a growth rate of 6%-7%. This region is still the fastest growing tin box packaging market in the world." Ozaki observed: "As printing moves from simulation The market seems to be shrinking with the transition to digital. As the scale of printing jobs is getting smaller and larger, there is a wide variety of types, and the on-demand trend has not changed."

Charlie Lee said, "As always, the ink used for commercial tin box packaging printing is increasing."

Tanaka said: "With the increase in demand for economic growth and population growth, the sales of tin box packaging inks in Asia and Europe are increasing in general. Inks for paper products are also growing in India and China. Digital printing industry The demand for toner and inkjet inks is also increasing year by year."

The rise of tin box packaging printing inks

The tin box packaging industry performed well, which is good news for the ink industry. Ozaki said that T&K Toka expects the packaging market to continue to expand.

Ozaki said: “Due to the economic growth rate and population growth in the Asia-Pacific region, the daily life-related package will remain strong. In addition, we expect the impact of COVID-19 will further increase the use of e-commerce in lifestyle.”

Pradhan pointed out that in general, tin box packaging printing has experienced substantial growth in Asia in recent years, and Siegwerk expects this trend to continue in 2021. "We believe that Southeast Asia and the U.S. market will take the lead in terms of growth. On the other hand, although the U.S. GDP growth rate is gradually declining, and the tin box packaging market is almost mature, we still believe that this is a huge and promising market. This is why we are very active and will invest further in the US market."

Tanaka said: "Despite the limited impact of economic activities due to COVID-19, the demand for tin box packaging has steadily increased driven by population growth and economic growth."

Hubergroup’s corporate communications team in Asia pointed out: “Tin box packaging is a continuously growing market segment. Although COVID-19 has caused temporary disruption. However, the growth prospects for tin box packaging (rigid and flexible) in 2021 are very strong. ."

Jason Lee said: "Tin box packaging inks are still the main growth area, which is why we attach so much importance to product development activities in the areas of energy curing and low migration products. We expect the growth of the tin box packaging market to remain strong in 2021. This is Due to the increase in per capita consumption and the increase in demand for more advanced packaging, for example, more variable data, personalization, special effects, and shorter-period promotions."

"As food and medical tin box packaging is essential during the pandemic, most countries are still supporting the market," Sota concluded. "With this in mind, the growth of tin box packaging inks will be relatively strong in 2021 compared to publishing/commercial inks."