European plastics market experiencing continuing growth, says report

The European plastics market is expected to experience continual growth over the next eight years, according to a recent report.

According to the latest market research by Ceresana, the market for plastics in Europe reached a volume of over 53 million tonnes in 2014, with revenues over the next eight years expected to rise further at an average rate of 2.9 percent per annum, reaching €104 billion by 2022.

Having a market share of almost 24 percent, Germany is the largest manufacturer of plastics in Europe, finds the report. Belgium ranks second, followed by France, Russia, the Netherlands and Spain.

The most important application areas for plastics in 2014 were flexible packaging, rigid packaging and the construction industry, with these areas currently representing about 70 percent of the total demand for plastics in Europe.

Other sales markets, however, are recording the highest growth rates of more than two percent per annum. These are transportation and the electrics and electronics industry.

The report gives an overview of all significant plastics, from standard products such as polyethylene, polypropylene or PVC, to engineering plastics such as ABS, through to fluoropolymers and bioplastics. It does not include include synthetic fibers, paints and adhesives in its projections.

The report identifies that PET, polypropylene and HDPE are the materials of choice in Europe for rigid packaging applications, with reduction in materials usage and lightweighting continuing trends.

It also highlights the rise in the use of PVC in the construction industry, with 2014 seeing the highest recorded demand for its use at 5.5 million tonnes. HDPE was in second place, followed by polystyrene and EPS.