Widening Range of Applications to Fuel Stretch & Shrink Film Market

Gains will be driven by increased palletizing and shipping activity, as well as improvements in resin and machinery technology, which will expand stretch and shrink film’s range of use. Growth in consumer spending and retail activity will also support demand for stretch and shrink film in fast-growing product packaging applications, such as collation films and labels.

Strong Outlook for Pallet Wrap & Stretch Hoods Will Drive Gains

Pallet unitization films accounted for just over half of total demand for stretch and shrink films in 2016. Strong gains in this market will be driven by increased warehousing, storage, and shipping activity. As goods are transported longer distances, brand owners expect greater load integrity to keep product damage to a minimum. Advances in resin and application machinery have lowered material and operational costs, allowing more pallets to be wrapped and amplifying film’s competitive advantages over other load stabilizing methods.

Particularly rapid gains are expected for stretch hoods, as greater adoption of hooding machinery and performance advantages such as high throughput, clarity for barcode scanning, and greater load stability expand their applications.

Multilayer Films to Enhance Film Performance & Enable Lower Gauges

Multilayer stretch and shrink films will continue to make inroads in the market due to greater strength and customization capabilities. Multilayer films are also favored for their downgauging potential, as they require less material to achieve required mechanical specifications.

However, growth for multilayer film has been restrained in the US by ongoing patent disputes over films containing seven or more layers. In the meantime, five-layer lines will continue to replace single-layer and three-layer lines.

Shrink Labels Remain Among Fastest Growing Product Types

Shrink sleeve labels will continue to grow at a strong pace going forward due to trends in the packaging industry toward enhanced shelf appeal. Brand owners are seeking to differentiate their products with eye-catching graphics, promotional material, and unique shapes and sizes. Shrink labels conform tightly to a variety of shapes, are amenable to a variety of printing techniques and inks, and are clear and scuff resistant.  Polyolefin-based shrink labels will offer new growth opportunities, as these are more easily recycled in the PET bottle recycling stream than PVC and PETG.

Study Coverage

This study presents historical demand data (2006, 2011, and 2016) and forecasts (2021) by product (wrap, hoods, bags, labels), market (storage and distribution – pallet unitization and bundling; product packaging – food, paper and textile products, beverage, and consumer), and resin (LLDPE, LDPE, PVC). The study also evaluates company market share and offers competitive analysis on industry participants including Bemis, Berry Global, Inteplast, Intertape Polymer Group, Paragon Films, Sealed Air, and Sigma Plastics Group.

Published:  September 2017

Format:  PDF emailed by publisher

Number of Pages:  159

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The Freedonia Group, Inc. is a leading international industry market research company that provides information and analysis needed to make informed strategic decisions for your business. Freedonia’s industry market research on Packaging covers a broad range of packaging materials (e.g., paper, plastic, metal) and applications (e.g., protective packaging, food containers). In each case various factors affecting demand are considered such as renewability, life style, distribution, end use product demand and other related issues. All studies include market size, forecasts, product and market segmentations, related economic indicator and regulatory analysis, market share estimates, a discussion of industry structure, and profiles of the leading companies.