The Flexible Packaging Association recently published its 23rd annual State of the Flexible Packaging Industry Report. Produced by the Business and Economic Research Division of the association, this valuable Report provides industry converters, suppliers, investors and analysts with an overview of the U.S. flexible packaging industry in 2013. A number of aspects of the U.S. flexible packaging industry are examined, including:

• Performance (growth, revenue/volume expectations, profitability, capital spending)
• Materials and processes (printing, expected material usage)
• End-uses (end-use forecast, U.S. Census Bureau retail segments data)
• Structure and consolidation (M&A activity)
• Imports and exports (trade outlook)
• Industry vision, challenges, and trends

FPA gathers the information contained in the Report through several industry sources including the FPA State of the U.S. Flexible Packaging Industry membership Survey, the Industry-Wide Converter non-member Survey, the U.S. Census Bureau Annual Survey of Manufactures, the U.S. Department of Labor, the U.S. Department of Commerce, industry analysts and investment banking reports. Data collected from this multitude of sources provides a more complete picture of the U.S. flexible packaging industry, and helps to verify information regarding industry size, structure, market segments and key packaging products.

Over the past 10 years, (2003-2013) the U.S. flexible packaging industry has grown from $21.1 billion to $27.2, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 2.6 percent per year. The U.S. flexible packaging industry continues as one of the fastest growing segments in the U.S. packaging industry.  The total flexible packaging industry includes packaging for retail, institutional food and non-food (including medical and pharmaceutical) materials, shrink and stretch films, retail shopping bags and consumer storage/trash bags, and wraps.

This much sought after publication is available to FPA membership in the “members only” section of the FPA website, www.flexpack.org and available to non-members for $3500.  For more information on the State of the Flexible Packaging Industry Report and other

FPA financial, economic, and benchmarking reports, please contact the Flexible Packaging Association at (410) 694-0800 or visit www.flexpack.org