The global flexible packaging market reached $326.5 billion last year. Energy costs are rising, but digital adoption is accelerating, with 72% of printers planning new equipment investments within three years.
Key Takeaways
- $326.5 billion global flexible packaging market size in 2023, indicating the value of flexible packaging materials and products
- $4.6 billion value of the global corrugated boxes market in 2024, reflecting the segment’s market size
- $74.0 billion global packaging machinery market size in 2023, capturing demand for equipment used in packaging production
- 3.5 million tonnes of plastic packaging waste generated in the European Union in 2021, showing scale of packaging materials needing circular solutions
- 9.6% increase in energy prices in 2022 in the EU relative to 2021 contributing to higher printing and conversion costs
- In the U.S., industrial natural gas prices increased substantially in 2022 versus 2021, pushing up energy costs for energy-intensive manufacturers (relevant to printing inks, drying, and converting)
- U.S. industrial electricity prices for manufacturers rose in 2022 compared with 2021, contributing to higher operating costs across printing and packaging operations
- 2–5% typical improvement in yield when implementing closed-loop color control and inline spectrophotometer feedback
- 10% reduction in energy consumption possible from variable-speed drives on printing and converting motors in industrial pilots
- 15% average improvement in OEE (Overall Equipment Effectiveness) after implementing condition monitoring for presses and converters
- 72% of printers plan to invest in digital printing equipment within 3 years, based on industry survey findings
- 37% of packaging converters use RFID or similar tracking for logistics and traceability in supply chains
- 66% of packaging companies report using color standards (ICC profiles or brand spot standards) in production workflows
- 38% of manufacturers report that they have implemented or are implementing a digital twin (applicable to press/converter process optimization)
- In the U.S., 85% of municipalities report offering recycling programs, shaping logistics and labeling requirements for packaging recycling streams
In 2023, packaging demand kept rising while digital quality and energy efficiency investments accelerated.
Related reading
01 · Category
Market Size6 stats
01
$326.5 billion global flexible packaging market size in 2023, indicating the value of flexible packaging materials and products
02
$4.6 billion value of the global corrugated boxes market in 2024, reflecting the segment’s market size
03
$74.0 billion global packaging machinery market size in 2023, capturing demand for equipment used in packaging production
04
3.6% year-over-year increase in global packaging sector revenue in 2023 (up from 2022), reflecting steady demand across major packaging end markets
05
2.4% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) forecast for the global packaging market from 2024 to 2029
06
The global paper and paperboard packaging market is expected to reach about US$ 300 billion by 2028 (based on industry market forecasts), indicating continuing print-relevant volume
Interpretation
Market Size Interpretation
The printing packaging industry’s Market Size outlook looks steadily upward, with the flexible packaging market reaching $326.5 billion in 2023 and the overall packaging market forecast to grow at a 2.4% CAGR from 2024 to 2029, indicating continued expansion across multiple packaging segments and related machinery demand.
02 · Category
Industry Trends1 stats
01
3.5 million tonnes of plastic packaging waste generated in the European Union in 2021, showing scale of packaging materials needing circular solutions
Interpretation
Industry Trends Interpretation
In 2021 the European Union produced 3.5 million tonnes of plastic packaging waste, underscoring a clear industry trend toward the need for more circular packaging solutions.
03 · Category
Cost Analysis3 stats
01
9.6% increase in energy prices in 2022 in the EU relative to 2021 contributing to higher printing and conversion costs
02
In the U.S., industrial natural gas prices increased substantially in 2022 versus 2021, pushing up energy costs for energy-intensive manufacturers (relevant to printing inks, drying, and converting)
03
U.S. industrial electricity prices for manufacturers rose in 2022 compared with 2021, contributing to higher operating costs across printing and packaging operations
Interpretation
Cost Analysis Interpretation
The cost analysis shows that energy price pressures drove higher printing and conversion expenses in 2022, with EU energy prices up 9.6% versus 2021 and US industrial natural gas and electricity prices also rising, increasing operating costs across energy-intensive manufacturing.
04 · Category
Performance Metrics11 stats
01
2–5% typical improvement in yield when implementing closed-loop color control and inline spectrophotometer feedback
02
10% reduction in energy consumption possible from variable-speed drives on printing and converting motors in industrial pilots
03
15% average improvement in OEE (Overall Equipment Effectiveness) after implementing condition monitoring for presses and converters
04
33% reduction in scrap rates reported in a study on machine vision-based inspection for printed products
05
25% decrease in rework associated with implementing barcode-based quality checks in packaging assembly lines
06
1.5–3.0% improvement in first-pass yield in flexographic and gravure printing after tightening ink viscosity and anilox calibration controls
07
0.5–1.0% absolute reduction in defect density after deploying inline inspection systems and automated reject control
08
75% reduction in time to locate production paperwork when using digital traceability systems instead of paper records
09
56% of companies report using computer vision for quality inspection (relevant to reducing defects in printed packaging via automated visual checking)
10
4.0% average reduction in overall defect rates reported by organizations after implementing machine vision-based quality control (median of multi-case results in vendor/industry summaries)
11
1–2% typical reduction in color-to-standard variation is achievable through spectrophotometer-based color management workflows (process capability improvement in print operations)
Interpretation
Performance Metrics Interpretation
Performance metrics in printing packaging are showing measurable gains across the board, including a 33% reduction in scrap with machine vision inspection and around 15% average OEE improvement from condition monitoring, alongside 2 to 5% yield boosts from closed-loop color control and 10% energy savings from variable-speed drives.
More related reading
05 · Category
User Adoption3 stats
01
72% of printers plan to invest in digital printing equipment within 3 years, based on industry survey findings
02
37% of packaging converters use RFID or similar tracking for logistics and traceability in supply chains
03
66% of packaging companies report using color standards (ICC profiles or brand spot standards) in production workflows
Interpretation
User Adoption Interpretation
The user adoption signal is that 72% of printers plan to invest in digital printing within three years while 37% of packaging converters already use RFID-based tracking, showing both rapid modernization and selective uptake of advanced traceability tools.
06 · Category
Digital Transformation1 stats
01
38% of manufacturers report that they have implemented or are implementing a digital twin (applicable to press/converter process optimization)
Interpretation
Digital Transformation Interpretation
With 38% of printing and packaging manufacturers already implementing or rolling out digital twins, the digital transformation trend is clearly moving from experimentation toward data driven process optimization in press and conversion operations.
07 · Category
Regulatory & Compliance1 stats
01
In the U.S., 85% of municipalities report offering recycling programs, shaping logistics and labeling requirements for packaging recycling streams
Interpretation
Regulatory & Compliance Interpretation
With 85% of U.S. municipalities offering recycling programs, regulatory and compliance requirements for printing packaging increasingly hinge on how materials are labeled and handled for recycling logistics.
report visual · Key figures
Cost & productivity levers in printing/packaging
Energy price pressure and operational upgrades (drives, monitoring, inspection) are tied to measurable improvements in costs and performance across printing and converting.
9.6%
9.6% increase in energy prices in 2022 in the EU relative to 2021 contributing to higher printing and conversion costs
10%
10% reduction in energy consumption possible from variable-speed drives on printing and converting motors in industrial
15%
15% average improvement in OEE (Overall Equipment Effectiveness) after implementing condition monitoring for presses and
33%
33% reduction in scrap rates reported in a study on machine vision-based inspection for printed products
25%
25% decrease in rework associated with implementing barcode-based quality checks in packaging assembly lines
source-verifiedec.europa.eu · iea.org · i-sense.com · sciencedirect.com2022
Reference
Cite This Report
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APA
Min-ji Park. (2026, February 13). Printing Packaging Industry Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/printing-packaging-industry-statistics
MLA
Min-ji Park. "Printing Packaging Industry Statistics." Gitnux, 13 Feb 2026, https://gitnux.org/printing-packaging-industry-statistics.
Chicago
Min-ji Park. 2026. "Printing Packaging Industry Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/printing-packaging-industry-statistics.
Sources & references
26 datasets cited across this report · attribution is report-level
+9 additional datasets cited (not shown individually)