The Flexible Packaging Association will soon publish its 22nd annual State of the Flexible Packaging Industry Report. Produced by the Business and Economic Research Division of the association, the Report will provide industry converters, suppliers, investors and analysts with an overview of the U.S. flexible packaging industry in 2012. Several aspects of the U.S. flexible packaging industry will be 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
In the coming months, the FPA Update will feature reviews of key aspects examined in the Report and highlight data relating to U.S. flexible packaging manufacturing/production, sales or other operational metrics. FPA gathers the information contained in the Report through several industry sources including the FPA members’ State of the U.S. Flexible Packaging Industry Survey, the FPA non-members’ Industry-Wide Converter Survey, the U.S. Census Bureau’s 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. 
 
The focus of the Report is the segment of the U.S. flexible packaging industry that adds significant value to the flexible materials, usually by performing multiple processes. This segment is also referred to as the “value-added” segment, which does not include retail shopping bags, consumer storage bags, or trash bags.
 
The value-added segment is estimated to be $19.8 billion of the total flexible packaging industry, which is approximately $26.7 billion in annual sales (2012). The total flexible packaging industry includes packaging for retail and institutional food and non-food (including medical and pharmaceutical) industrial materials, shrink and stretch films, retail shopping bags and consumer storage/trash bags, and wraps. 
 
The 2013 State of the Flexible Packaging Industry Report is a benefit of FPA membership and is available in the members only section of the FPA Web site, www.flexpack.org. Hard copies of the Report are available to FPA non-members for $3,500. For more information on the State of the Flexible Packaging Industry Report, and other FPA financial and economic reports including the Compensation Report, the Earnings Report, the Pulse of the Industry Report and the Bi-annual Polyolefins Market Report, contact FPA at (410) 694-0800 or visit www.flexpack.org.