Based on the new State of the Industry U.S. Packaging Machinery Report infographic by PMMI, The Association for Packaging and Processing Technologies, packaging machinery shipments could reach $11.2 billion. Download the full infographic below.

Illustrating findings from PMMI’s State of the Industry U.S. Packaging Machinery Report, the infographic shows the value of domestic shipments of packaging machinery rose 6% to $8.7 billion in 2018 — and are forecast to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of nearly 4% through 2024.

“The outlook for the packaging machinery market continues to be robust,” says Jorge Izquierdo, vice president of market development, PMMI. “We anticipate growth in major market segments such as pharmaceuticals, as well as food and beverage with flexible packaging continuing to make inroads on rigid packaging.”

The market for flexible packaging is flourishing and at the expense of cartons and bottles, but the throughput rates of rigid packaging are still significantly higher than those of pouches.

Food represents the largest packaging machinery sector in 2018, accounting for 38.8% of shipment revenues, followed by beverage at 23.6%. The pharmaceuticals sector is expected to grow the fastest to 2024, at a CAGR of 4.4%, but beverage isn’t too far behind, forecasting at 4.1%.

While the largest machinery type category in 2018 was case handling at 15.1%, form/fill/seal equipment is forecast to grow the fastest to 2024, with a CAGR of 4.7%. Filling and dosing machinery — clearly paced by the expected growth in pharma — is forecast to grow the next fastest, with a CAGR of 4.1%.