The global polyethylene film market Size was valued at $82.6 billion in 2020, and is projected to reach $128.2 billion by 2030, growing at a CAGR of 4.5% from 2021 to 2030.
Polyethylene is a thermoplastic that possesses properties such flexibility, strength, toughness, easy to seal, and resistant to moisture. It is a plastic made from complex polymers, which leads to a rigid, inflammable, fireproof, transparent, and opaque product. Polyethylene films are used in food & beverage industry for various applications such as packaging of in-store products such as apples & potatoes, non-frozen baked products such as rolls & breads, and tray covers for delivery of baked food products due to its low melting point. These characteristics vary with the basic polyethylene parameters of density/crystallinity, molecular weight, and molecular weight distribution. HDPE films are widely utilized in the construction industry as vapor retarders, window films, flooring &counter top protection, and roofing solutions. In addition, these sheets are used to seal off rooms, cover building materials, and these are also used in lead abatement projects.
The growth of the global polyethylene films market is driven by rise in adoption of PE films in food & beverage, construction, agriculture, and household. PE films are used as vapor retarder, window film, counter top protection, and roofing solutions. In addition, it can be used for sealing room, cover materials that are used for constructing buildings, and can be utilized in lead abatement projects, which is the key market trend that drives the use of PE films in construction applications. Moreover, HDPE films are capable of protecting the ground water from toxic chemicals that usually occur during oil drilling and from landfills. These films play vital role for keeping out lead of ocean in shipbuilding projects and can be used to slow down run-off mechanism on hill sites. These are considered as global polyethylene films market growth factors.
Furthermore, the packaging industry is one of the largest consumers of polyethylene film. The demand for flexible packaging solutions, such as bags, pouches, and wraps, is increasing due to factors like convenience, product protection, and sustainability. Polyethylene film provides excellent barrier properties, moisture resistance, and flexibility, making it an ideal choice for packaging applications. Additionally, the rise of e-commerce and the need for protective packaging for online shipments have further boosted the demand for polyethylene film. Moreover, Polyethylene film plays a crucial role in modern agriculture. It is widely used as greenhouse films, mulch films, and silage wraps. Greenhouse films help create controlled environments for plant growth and protection against adverse weather conditions. Mulch films help retain soil moisture, control weed growth, and regulate soil temperature. Silage wraps are used for covering and preserving animal feed. The growing demand for higher crop yields, protection against pests and diseases, and efficient farming practices has contributed to the increased use of polyethylene film in agriculture.
In addition, polyethylene film is used in the construction industry for applications such as vapor barriers, protective wraps, and geomembranes. Vapor barriers help control moisture diffusion in buildings, protecting against mold and moisture-related issues. Protective wraps are used to protect building materials during transportation and construction. Geomembranes are used for waterproofing and lining applications in civil engineering projects. The growing construction activities, infrastructure development, and focus on energy-efficient buildings have driven the demand for polyethylene film in the construction sector. The polyethylene film market is witnessing significant growth in emerging economies, primarily driven by urbanization, rising disposable incomes, and changing consumer lifestyles. As these economies experience industrialization and urban development, there is an increased demand for packaging, construction, and consumer goods, which in turn drives the demand for polyethylene film.
As the world is shifting toward sustainability and environmental friendliness, eco-friendly packaging solutions is expected to continue to foster green practices. This has made consumers more linear toward the use of paper packaging products instead of polyethylene films. In addition, rise in awareness for waste management and reduction of carbon footprints have attracted the customer preference toward paper packaging films in a wide range of applications such as food, cosmetics & personal care, pharmaceutical, and others. This is attributed to the use of paper packaging films over polyethylene films due to environmental regulations & constraints, which may restrain the growth of the polyethylene films market.
On the contrary, the polyethylene films offer various significant properties such as lightweight, flexible, glossy finish, moisture resistance, and other characteristics that make them suitable for a wide range of applications. However, several robust applications such as construction, tubes, laminates, and others require multi-layer polyethylene film (ranging from 2-9 layers) with high flexibility and moisture resistant capabilities. Moreover, multi-layer polyethylene films are widely utilized in the agricultural sectors for crop protection in harsh climatic conditions. This factor is anticipated to offer remunerative opportunities for the expansion of the global market.
The Polyethylene film market is segmented on the basis of technology, type, material, application, and region. Depending on technology, the market is segregated into blow film extrusion and cast film extrusion. On the basis of type, it is divided into stretch films and shrink films. By material, the global market is divided into low-density polyethylene (LDPE), high-density polyethylene (HDPE), and linear low-density polyethylene (LLDPE). On the basis of application, it is segregated into food & beverage, agriculture, construction, household, and others. On the basis of region, the market is analyzed across North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and LAMEA. Currently, Asia-Pacific garners the largest share in the global market, followed by North America and Europe.
Comprehensive competitive analysis and profiles of major market players, such as Amcor Ltd., Berry Global Inc., Constantia Flexibles Group GmbH, Klockner Pentaplast Group, Printpack Inc. RKW Group, Inteplast Group, Sealed Air Corporation, Sumitomo Bakelite Co., Ltd., and Toray Industries Inc., are considered in the report.
Polyethylene Film Market, by Type
The stretch filmssegment dominated the global polyethylene film market in 2020, and is expected to maintain its dominance during the forecast period.Key players in the global market have launched innovative stretch films in the market. For instance, ERGIS Group is a global leader in plastic processing in Central and Eastern Europe. It launched nano ERGIS stretch film in 2019 that offers improved resistance to mechanical damages such as tearing and cracking.
By Type
Stretch Films is projected as the most lucrative market.
Polyethylene Film Market, by Technology
The cast film extrusion segment dominated the global polyethylene film market in 2020, and is expected to maintain its dominance during the forecast period. Cast films offer advantages such as film gauge uniformity and higher production rate, owing to utilization of processors during manufacturing. Applications such as food packaging, textile packaging, flower wrapping, and photo album pages drive the demand for cast film extrusion segment.
By Technology
Cast Film Extrusion is projected as the most lucrative segment.
Polyethylene Film Market, by Material
The LLDPE segment dominated the global polyethylene film market in 2020, and is expected to maintain its dominance during the forecast period. Properties such as impact resistance and tensile strength make LLDPE films suitable for applications such as carryout bags, trash liners, envelope films, and mattress bags. In addition, LLDPE films are capable of protecting contents inside the liquid containers, making it suitable for paper and paperboard packaging applications.
By Material Type
LLDPE is projected as the most lucrative market.
Polyethylene Film Market, by Application
The food & beverages segment dominated the global polyethylene film market in 2020, while the agriculture segment is anticipated to grow with 4.9% CAGR during the forecast period.
By Application
Food and Beverages is projected as the most lucrative market.
Polyethylene Film Market, by Region
Asia-Pacific accounted for the largest share of the polyethylene film market in 2020. The Asia-Pacific market for polyethylene film is expected to grow at the highest CAGR, in terms of both volume and value. Polyethylene sector in Southeast Asia has oversupply and demand due to large production rate. Moreover, there are several new PE manufacturing plants being set up, which in turn suppress prices of PE products. According to report by ICIS, India has added an additional production capacity of 6 million tons of PE in 2017-2018, out of which LLDPE occupies maximum share followed by HDPE and LDPE PE grades. These factors directly impact positively on the growth of the polyethylene films market in Asia-Pacific.
By Region
Asia-Pacific is projected as the most lucrative segment.
Key Benefits For Stakeholders
- The report provides in-depth analysis of the global polyethylene film market along with the current trends and future estimations.
- This report highlights the key drivers, opportunities, and restraints of the market along with the impact analysis during the forecast period.
- Porter’s five forces analysis helps to analyze the potential of the buyers & suppliers and the competitive scenario of the global polyethylene film market for strategy building.
- A comprehensive market analysis covers the factors that drive and restrain the global polyethylene film market growth.
- The qualitative data about market dynamics, trends, and developments is provided in the report.
Impact Of Covid-19 On The Global Polyethylene Film Market
- The COVID-19 pandemic has negatively affected the global economy and is subsequently shrinking the GDP in global economies; thereby, changing consumer spending patterns globally.
- The major end users of polyethylene films such as food & beverages, construction, packaging, automotive, and transportation have been negatively impacted due to the ongoing pandemic outbreak. The ongoing health crisis has increased the supply-demand gap, hampering the global polyethylene film supply chain.
- According to a report published by Molecular Diversity Preservation International (MDPI), the South African food and non-alcoholic beverage sector have gone through a moderate decline of the flow of income by 10% to 30%, whereas the alcoholic beverages have experienced a negative impact of 60% in 2020. This in turn has decreased the demand for polyethylene film in the food & beverages sector amid the COVID-19 period.
- Furthermore, the temporary shutdown of construction and infrastructure activities amid the COVID-19 period has reduced the consumption of polyethylene films for curing of concrete from the ground. For instance, according to a report published by a research journal, the COVID-19 pandemic has reduced the investment in the construction industry in India by 30%. This has resulted in decreased consumption of polyethylene film in the construction industry.
- In 2020, polyethylene film prices were higher in Asia. The price rise was due to continued regional demand trends and tight product availability. Firm downstream polyethylene demand and stronger upstream costs are expected to sustain the price gain. Few of the plants are under renovation and a few are shut down currently. For instance, Berry Global Inc. sold its U.S. polyethylene-based flexible film business, which was primarily operated in the engineered materials segment for $140 million in October 2020, owing to the decreased sales and loss of revenue in the region.
Polyethylene Film Market Report Highlights
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Analyst Review
The polyethylene film market dominates the overall coatings market and the demand is expected to increase in the future, as these films play an essential role in sectors such as food & beverage, agriculture, construction, and household. In addition, PE films are used in agriculture sector for various applications such as greenhouses, tunnels, reservoirs, crop collection, and components for irrigation systems.
Furthermore, mulching, silage, handling & transportation, nets that provide shades are other applications in the agriculture sector that utilize different grades of PE films. This factor is anticipated to offer lucrative growth opportunities in the future. Use of plastic films in agriculture has increased every year. For instance, according to report by Schuttelaar, mulch films are used widely in the agriculture sector and worldwide consumption of mulch films nearly accounted for 40% of total plastic films manufactured per year.
China is leading the consumption of PE film for agricultural application, which accounted for 1.22 million ton per year. In addition, the global consumption of mulch films in agricultural application was 2.0 million tons in 2019. It is the key market trend that escalates the production and use of PE films in agricultural application, which is another factor favorable for the growth of the global market.
In addition, greenhouse and high tunnels are other majorly used techniques for increasing the crop yield. Use of PE films in greenhouses has several benefits such as ability to control environment temperature. These factors are predicted to augment the growth of the global polyethylene films market. Mulch films have witnessed a significant growth as it serves a number of different purposes. Transparent mulch film is being utilized for encouraging early season plant growth and early cropping, whereas black mulch films are used to control weed growth, and white films provide reflected sunlight for the plants.
The growth drivers, restraints, and opportunities are explained in the report to better understand the market dynamics. This report further highlights the key areas of investment. In addition, it includes Porter’s five forces analysis to understand the competitive scenario of the industry and role of each stakeholder. The report features the strategies adopted by key market players to maintain their foothold in the market. Furthermore, it highlights the competitive landscape of the key players to increase their market share and sustain intense competition in the industry.
Increased adoption of polyethylene films in the food & beverages sector, rise in e-commerce sector, and rise in construction activities are the other major factors that are boosting the polyethylene film market growth.
The polyethylene film market size was valued at $82.6 billion in 2020 and is projected to reach $128.2 billion by 2030.
Amcor Ltd., Berry Global Inc., Constantina Flexibles Group Gmbh, Klockner Pentaplast Group, Printpack Inc., RKW Group, Inteplast Group, Sealed Air Corporation, Sumitomo Bakelite Co. Ltd., and Toray Industries Inc. are the most established players in the global polyethylene film market.
Food & beverage industry is projected to increase the demand of polyethylene film market
The global polyethylene film market is segmented bases on technology, type, materials, type, application, and region.
Polyethylene film is one of the most common polymeric films used for the packaging of food & beverages products. It possesses various significant properties such as lightweight, flexible, glossy finish, moisture resistance, and other characteristics that make it suitable for food packaging. It is the major growth factor in the polyethylene film market.
Food & beverages and construction applications are expected to drive the adoption of polyethylene films.
COVID-19 has impacted negatively on the additives market. This is attributed due to • The novel coronavirus is an incomparable global pandemic that has spread to over 180 countries and caused huge losses of lives and the economy around the globe. • The major end users of polyethylene films such as food & beverages, construction, packaging, automotive, and transportation have been negatively impacted due to the ongoing pandemic outbreak. The ongoing health crisis has increased the supply-demand gap, hampering the global polyethylene film supply chain. • In addition, more than 100 countries have locked their international borders for transportation and non-essential trade activities, which in turn have reduced the consumption of polyethylene films among the automotive sectors. • Furthermore, the temporary shutdown of construction and infrastructure activities amid the COVID-19 period has reduced the consumption of polyethylene films for the curing of concrete from the ground. For instance, according to a report published by a research journal, the COVID-19 pandemic has reduced the investment in the construction industry in India by 30%. This has resulted in decreased consumption of polyethylene film in the construction industry. • In 2020, polyethylene film prices are expected to be higher in Asia. The price rise is due to continued regional demand trends and tight product availability. Firm downstream polyethylene demand and stronger upstream costs are expected to sustain the price gain. Some the plants are focusing toward renovation and a few are shut down currently. For instance, Berry Global Inc. has sold its U.S. polyethylene-based flexible film business, which was primarily operated in the engineered materials segment for $140 million in October 2020, owing to the decreased sales and loss of revenue in the region.
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