Global packaging market to exceed USD1 trillion by 2026

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Aided by bold new packaging designs, the global packaging market is set to rise at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 3.8% from USD806.3 billion in 2016 to more than USD1 trillion in 2026, a new report is forecasting, said Canplastics.

The report by market research firm Smithers Pira, entitled "The Future of Packaging Design: Long-Term Strategic Forecasts to 2026," concludes that the future of the packaging industry will be shaped by general political, economic, social and technological factors. Meanwhile, the specific future of packaging design to 2021 and 2026 is predicted to be determined by supply side technological trends and demand side consumer trends.

"The political environment will affect the packaging industry and packaging design via initiatives, legislation and regulation affecting environmental affairs such as sustainability, food packaging labelling and packaging safety," said Ashley Gange, report author. "Sustainability has become a particularly important consideration in many areas over the past decade. This is especially true in packaging where it is a major issue since packaging materials are extremely visible to the consumer. This is because packaging as a single-use product faces intense and growing pressures from consumers, retailers, suppliers, governments, regulators, NGOs, environmental groups and others for the development of environmentally friendly solutions."

The report also noted that, for the first time, the European labour market saw more workers retired than joined in 2010. "The impact of this trend on the printing industry will become more evident with time, as the gap is predicted to widen substantially," the report said. "In a decade, larger countries including Canada, China and South Korea will have more people at retirement than working age. Emerging markets such as Brazil, Mexico, and India are seeing more people joining labour markets than ever. If these countries offer their younger population with proper education and opportunities to develop their skills, this demographic trend will help local printing industries."

By end use, greatest actual growth was recorded by food packaging which increased in value at a CAGR of 3.6% from 2010 to 2015. "Its share of total packaging value rose by 1.7% over this time," the report said. "The rate of growth in food packaging is forecast at a CAGR of 3.8% from 2016 to 2021, resulting in an increase in total share of packaging value of 0.2% over this time."

As MRC informed earlier, Global ethylene market (Industry) was valued at USD156 bln in 2013 and is projected to reach USD234.2 bln by 2020, expanding at a CAGR of 6% from 2014 to 2020.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Emerson has agreed to acquire UK-based Permasense Ltd., a provider of non-intrusive corrosion monitoring technologies for heavy industries, including refining, chemical, and pipelines, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Permasense monitoring systems use unique sensor technology, wireless data delivery and advanced analytics to continuously monitor for metal loss from corrosion or erosion in pipes, pipelines or vessels, and reliably deliver high-integrity data from even the harshest environments.

The Permasense product line will become part of Emerson’s Rosemount portfolio of measurement and analytical technologies. Permasense technologies complement Emerson’s Roxar intrusive corrosion monitoring and non-intrusive sand management systems and strengthen the company’s Pervasive Sensing applications that provide customers a more complete view of their operations and facilities.

Lal Karsanbhai, group vice president, measurement and analytical technologies, Emerson Automation Solutions, added, "The addition of patented Permasense technologies along with our existing Roxar technologies enables Emerson to provide customers with a more complete corrosion monitoring solution and a clearer picture into the performance of their infrastructure based on what they’re demanding of it and the strategies needed to optimize production."

Central to Permasense corrosion monitoring systems are sensors that employ proven ultrasonic wall thickness measurement principles. The sensors are battery powered and communicate wirelessly, which minimizes the cost of installation and enables use in remote areas and on a large scale. The sensors are also designed so they can be deployed in hazardous areas.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Qatargas will start operations at its new Ras Laffan 2 condensate splitter by the end of October, doubling the Gulf state's capacity to process condensate, two sources with knowledge of the matter said Monday, reported Reuters.

The 146 Mbpd facility had been due to open in September, but was delayed due to technical problems, traders said.

It will process deodorized field condensate (DFC) and low sulfur field condensate to extract mostly naphtha and middle distillates.

Condensate exports from Qatar will drop from 500 Mbpd to about 350 Mbpd when the 146 Mbpd splitter starts operating, an official at Qatar Petroleum, Qatargas's state-owned majority shareholder, has said. That will enable the Gulf state to soak up some of its condensate at home as it faces growing competition for condensate sales overseas from US and Iranian light oil shipments.

Commissioning of the new splitter is "99%" complete and an imminent handover to operator Qatargas is likely to see the plant start up "within the next two weeks," a Doha-based source, who declined to be named because he was not authorized to speak publicly, told Reuters.

Japan's Chiyoda Corp. is building the refinery in a joint venture with Taiwan's CTCI Corp.

"We are at the final moment. There were no technical problems from our end," Chiyoda's general manager in Qatar, Toshiyuki Ito, told Reuters, but would not confirm a start-up date.

Qatari state-marketer Tasweeq withdrew offers for at least 1.5 MMbbl of prompt November-loading DFC last week, traders with knowledge of the matter said, possibly indicating the splitter is likely to open imminently.

Initial offers for November-loading cargoes had indicated that the condensate splitter was more likely to start operations in November than October as the oil firm was seen reducing its November feedstock requirements by opting to sell prompt cargoes, traders said.

Tasweeq sold 2 MMbbl of DFC for end-October loading prior to its offers for November-loading condensate supplies.

We remind that, as MRC informed before, in February 2016, Saudi Kayan Petrochemical Co. awarded Taiwan's CTCI Corp. a contract worth USD94.5 million (SAR 354.4 million) to build a new cracker at its complex in Jubail Industrial City. Under the deal, CTCI will manage the engineering, procurement and construction management (EPCM) for the project, which is located in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia. The company added that it will secure the related finance from local institutions, expecting to complete the new cracker in H2-2017.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Trinseo, the global materials company and manufacturer of plastics, latex binders and synthetic rubber, today debuted its 85% Long Glass Fiber (LGF) Polypropylene (PP) concentrate product family for automotive semi-structural applications, said the producer on its site.

These breakthrough products were introduced at the Society of Plastics Engineers (SPE) Automotive TPO Conference in Detroit, Michigan, stand 15. ENLITE PP LGF 1851 and 1852 are latest innovation in Trinseo's ENLITE structural polymers portfolio, which is built on the company's in-depth market knowledge and polymer expertise.

The new ENLITE products have the highest glass fiber concentration (85%) of any PP LGF concentrate available commercially for automotive semi-structural applications, which enables lighter weight interior parts at lower total cost compared to steel and aluminum.

“We know that lightweight is more than a trend in the automotive industry; it’s a necessity. We’ve also seen an increasing need for cost-effective semi-structural parts, and our new ENLITE LGF 1851 technology is a direct response to these demands. It is the first structural polymer with an 85% concentration on the market, offering manufacturers a more advanced, robust, and affordable solution for today’s lightweight needs, and it strengthens Trinseo’s role as a leader in this strategic business," says Dagmar van Heur, Vice President, Performance Plastics.

ENLITE products are developed for instrument panels, door modules, front-end modules, tailgates, and other interior and semi-structural applications that require a balance of dimensional stability, heat resistance and weight optimization. ENLITE PP-LGF 1851 and 1852 are a step-change improvement over the previous industry benchmark of 60% LGF concentration.

Trinseo’s extended polypropylene offering includes a range of high-flow resins, providing excellent material performance related to low VOC and high flow, and enabling optimized interior parts related to air quality and weight reduction through thin-wall technology.

As MRC MRC informed earlier, Trinseo issued a statement welcoming Bain Capital’s successful sale of its remaining stake in the company.

Trinseo is a global materials company and manufacturer of plastics, latex and rubber. Trinseo's technology is used by customers in industries such as home appliances, automotive, building & construction, carpet, consumer electronics, consumer goods, electrical & lighting, medical, packaging, paper & paperboard, rubber goods and tires. Formerly known as Styron, Trinseo completed its renaming process in 1Q 2015. Trinseo had approximately USD4.0 billion in revenue in 2015, with 18 manufacturing sites around the world, and more than 2,200 employees.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Indonesian state energy company Pertamina expects to sign a JV agreement with Russian oil major Rosneft for the Tuban oil refinery development project, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The official, who declined to be named, because he was not authorized to speak to the media, said the venture agreement was expected to be signed on Monday and would include an agreement on two producing oil and gas blocks in Russia.

Pertamina also expects to form a JV with Saudi Aramco for the Cilacap refinery upgrade project in December, the official said. A decision on whether to go ahead with Aramco on the Balongan and Dumai refinery upgrades will be made in the coming months, the official said.

As MRC informed earlier, Russia's Rosneft has signed a contract to supply 96 MMt of crude oil to PV Oil, an affiliate of state oil and gas PetroVietnam, starting next year. The contract, signed on the sidelines of an international economic forum in Russia's St Petersburg, will last between 2017 and 2040. The volume to be supplied by the Russian firm is equivalent to nearly six years of Vietnam's crude oil production, which totalled 16.7 MMt in 2015, based on Vietnam's government data.

Rosneft became Russia's largest publicly traded oil company in March 2013 after the USD55 billion takeover of TNK-BP, which was Russia’s third-largest oil producer at the time.

Pertamina is an Indonesian state-owned oil and natural gas corporation based in Jakarta. It was created in August 1968 by the merger of Pertamin (established 1961) and Permina (established 1957). Pertamina is the world's largest producer and exporter of liquefied natural gas (LNG).
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