The global corrugated boxes market attained a valuation of $180.9 billion in 2019 and is predicted to generate a revenue of $284.6 billion in 2030. Furthermore, the market is expected to progress at a CAGR of 4.3% between 2020 and 2030. The market is being driven by the increasing requirement for convenient and lightweight packaging solutions in multiple industries and the boom of the offline retail and e-commerce sectors around the world.
A key factor propelling the advancement of the market is the surging packaging industry across the globe. As per Interpack Emerging Market Outlook, in 2015, the valuation of the global packaging industry was $839 billion. In 2019, the industry value grew to over $900 billion, due to the increased consumer requirement for manufactured products such as consumable goods like candies and television sets and smartphones. This has positively impacted the worldwide sales of corrugated boxes and other corrugated packaging materials.
This is because corrugated boxes are more widely preferred by packaging companies for shipping products over the conventionally used cardboard boxes, on account of the greater pressure-resistance and higher strength of these materials than the cardboard boxes. As a result, corrugated boxes and cartons are heavily used for transporting fragile and heavy products. According to industry experts, the packaging industry would flourish in the coming years, despite the COVID-19 pandemic.
Besides the booming packaging industry, the rising popularity of the e-commerce industry, online shopping, and on-demand delivery services is also pushing up the demand for corrugated boxes across the world. Based on board style, the corrugated boxes market is divided into single-face, single-wall, triple-wall, and double-wall. Out of these, the single-wall category recorded the highest growth in the market in the last few years and is predicted to dominate the market in the future years as well.
This would be a result of the high compatibility of these boards with the C flute, which is a medium-sized flute; the E flute, which is a micro-flute; and the B flute, which is considered a fine flute. The corrugated boxes made up of single-wall boards are lightweight and are thus, used for transporting/shipping lightweight goods. When box style is taken into consideration, the corrugated boxes market is categorized into telescope, folder, slotted, and rigid.
Amongst these, the telescope category would register the highest growth rate in the market in the upcoming years, according to the market research firm, P&S Intelligence. Two pieces of half-slotted cartons are used for making telescope boxes. As a result, these boxes have high double-walled strength and are thus, extensively used for packaging heavy industrial goods. These boxes are available in assorted sizes, which makes them suitable for use in the packaging of large items such as umbrellas and lamps.
Across the globe, the corrugated boxes market would exhibit the highest and fastest growth in Asia-Pacific (APAC) in the coming years, primarily because of the implementation of various government initiatives in the regional countries for supporting sustainable development and the easy availability of various raw materials required for the production of corrugated boxes. Besides these factors, the soaring industrial production in China is also fueling the demand for corrugated boxes in the region.
Hence, it can be said with surety that the market would exhibit consistent growth across the world in the future years, mainly because of the rising requirement for corrugated boxes in several industries and the growth of the global packaging and e-commerce industries.
