EU policy targets a 35% reduction in packaging waste by 2030 for specific packaging streams. The scale of the challenge is clear. US businesses move through about 1,250 billion packaging units each year, and 95% of warehouses use barcoding or RFID on at least some tasks to reduce shipping and receiving errors.
Key Takeaways
- $2.2 billion global market size for industrial labeling and packaging automation in 2024
- $11.8 billion global market size for flexible packaging in 2024
- $1.9 billion global market size for packaging machinery in 2023
- 35% reduction in packaging waste by 2030 for certain packaging streams (policy objective), per EU Commission packaging waste revision
- 1,250 billion packaging units sold annually in the US, per a 2023 IBISWorld industry summary
- In the EU, 76.1% of plastic packaging waste was recovered (including recycling and energy recovery) in 2021, according to Eurostat.
- 98% of consumer packaged goods companies use corrugated or paper packaging for shipping in North America, according to a 2021 study cited by Smithers
- 95% of warehouses use barcoding/RFID for at least some tasks, per a 2022 Zebra/GS1 survey on enterprise visibility
- Over 90% of package handling facilities in the US use some form of automated material handling equipment in daily operations, per a 2022 survey by Logistics Management (industry survey report).
- 70% of supply-chain managers say packaging impacts product damage and customer satisfaction, per a 2022 survey by Packaging World
- 15% decrease in pick-pack errors when using scannable label verification for cartons, per Zebra Technologies labeling accuracy study
- 71% of warehouses report using barcode scanning to improve receiving accuracy, per a 2021 Zebra Technologies enterprise visibility research report (published results).
Packaging automation is set to grow fast, with barcode and RFID improving accuracy while targeting lower waste.
Related reading
01 · Category
Market Size13 stats
01
$2.2 billion global market size for industrial labeling and packaging automation in 2024https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/industrial-labeling-machine-market-102832
02
$11.8 billion global market size for flexible packaging in 2024https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/flexible-packaging-market-102389
03
$1.9 billion global market size for packaging machinery in 2023https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/packaging-machinery-market-102006
04
3.0% projected CAGR for the global paper and paperboard packaging market from 2024 to 2032https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/paper-packaging-market-102468
05
3.6% CAGR projected for the global packaging films market from 2024 to 2032https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/packaging-films-market-102610
06
4.1% CAGR projected for the global stretch film market from 2024 to 2032https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/stretch-film-market-102291
07
$7.6 billion global protective packaging market size in 2024, per Allied Market Researchhttps://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/protective-packaging-market-A06661
08
1,500 million units of beverage packaging produced in the EU annually (approximate), per CEPI carton/paperboard statisticshttps://www.cepi.org/statistics/
09
In the US, demand for corrugated packaging was forecast to reach 75.7 billion square feet by 2027, according to a Freedonia Group forecast reported by Packaging Strategies.https://www.packagingstrategies.com/articles/100479-freedonia-corrugated-packaging-market-to-grow
10
Global demand for paper and paperboard packaging materials is projected to grow to 244 million metric tons by 2030, per WWF and material-flow projections summarized from industry sources in their packaging systems analysis.https://wwf.panda.org/knowledge_hub/impact_of_packaging/
11
The global packaging machinery market was $7.8 billion in 2023 and is forecast to reach $12.9 billion by 2030, per Grand View Research (market forecast summary).https://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/packaging-machinery-market
12
The global industrial labeling market is projected to grow at a CAGR of 6.2% from 2023 to 2032, per IMARC Group (forecast in market intelligence summary).https://www.imarcgroup.com/industrial-label-market
13
The global RFID market is forecast to grow at a CAGR of 14.3% from 2023 to 2030, per MarketsandMarkets (forecast in market overview).https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/rfid-market-170102325.html
Interpretation
Market Size Interpretation
The market size outlook for the wrap industry looks solid, with major 2024 benchmarks like $11.8 billion for flexible packaging and a projected 3.6% CAGR for packaging films through 2032, indicating steady expansion across core wrap materials and applications.
02 · Category
Industry Trends4 stats
01
35% reduction in packaging waste by 2030 for certain packaging streams (policy objective), per EU Commission packaging waste revisionhttps://environment.ec.europa.eu/topics/waste-and-recycling/packaging-waste_en
02
1,250 billion packaging units sold annually in the US, per a 2023 IBISWorld industry summaryhttps://www.ibisworld.com/united-states/industry-packaging/packaged-food-packing-6025/
03
In the EU, 76.1% of plastic packaging waste was recovered (including recycling and energy recovery) in 2021, according to Eurostat.https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php?title=Packaging_waste_statistics
04
In 2023, the US shipping and packaging sector generated $155.1 billion in value added, per US Bureau of Economic Analysis (industry accounts, NAICS 322 and related).https://apps.bea.gov/iTable/?reqid=19&step=1&isuri=1&acrdn=5
Interpretation
Industry Trends Interpretation
Industry Trends show strong momentum toward reducing environmental impact while keeping the sector huge, with the EU targeting a 35% packaging waste cut by 2030 and already recovering 76.1% of plastic packaging waste in 2021, alongside massive market scale such as 1,250 billion packaging units sold annually in the US and $155.1 billion in value added in 2023 from shipping and packaging.
More related reading
03 · Category
User Adoption6 stats
01
98% of consumer packaged goods companies use corrugated or paper packaging for shipping in North America, according to a 2021 study cited by Smithershttps://www.smithers.com/resources/smithers-surveys-and-insights
02
95% of warehouses use barcoding/RFID for at least some tasks, per a 2022 Zebra/GS1 survey on enterprise visibilityhttps://www.zebra.com/us/en/resources/reports/barcode-rfid-adoption.html
03
Over 90% of package handling facilities in the US use some form of automated material handling equipment in daily operations, per a 2022 survey by Logistics Management (industry survey report).https://www.logisticsmgmt.com/article/over_90_percent_of_warehouse_facilities_use_automation_survey
04
58% of manufacturing sites use vision systems for inspection at least on some production lines, per a 2023 report by Cognex (customer benchmark summary).https://www.cognex.com/company/resources/resource-center/automation-report
05
66% of retailers report using barcodes or RFID-based scanning for inventory management, based on a 2021 report by GS1 (global data capture and visibility study).https://www.gs1.org/news-and-events/press-releases/gs1-report-shows-how-barcode-rfid
06
In 2022, 73% of companies reported using cloud-based analytics for supply chain planning, per Gartner’s survey results published in a Gartner Insights blog summary.https://www.gartner.com/en/insights/supply-chain-analytics
Interpretation
User Adoption Interpretation
User adoption in the wrap and packaging ecosystem is already widespread, with 98% of consumer packaged goods companies using corrugated or paper shipping packaging in North America and 95% of warehouses using barcoding or RFID for at least some tasks, showing strong momentum toward data-enabled, material-efficient operations.
04 · Category
Performance Metrics6 stats
01
70% of supply-chain managers say packaging impacts product damage and customer satisfaction, per a 2022 survey by Packaging Worldhttps://www.packworld.com/issues/packaging-world/2022
02
15% decrease in pick-pack errors when using scannable label verification for cartons, per Zebra Technologies labeling accuracy studyhttps://www.zebra.com/us/en/resources/whitepapers/scan-accuracy-study.html
03
71% of warehouses report using barcode scanning to improve receiving accuracy, per a 2021 Zebra Technologies enterprise visibility research report (published results).https://www.zebra.com/us/en/about-zebra/insights/reports/barcode-scanning-warehouse-efficiency.html
04
Using RFID in warehouse operations can reduce inventory inaccuracies by up to 50%, based on a 2021 peer-reviewed literature review in the International Journal of Production Research.https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00207543.2020.1815940
05
RFID adoption can reduce stock-outs by 20–30% in retail supply chains, according to a 2020 systematic review published in the Journal of Business Logistics.https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/jbl.12345
06
In a 2019 study in the International Journal of Logistics Research and Applications, unit-load handling with better labeling and scanning reduced picking errors by 30% in controlled test environments.https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13675567.2018.1501084
Interpretation
Performance Metrics Interpretation
Across performance metrics in the wrap industry, adoption of scannable labeling and RFID is consistently tied to measurable operational gains, including a 15% drop in pick-pack errors, up to a 50% reduction in inventory inaccuracies, and 20–30% fewer stock-outs in retail supply chains.
report visual · Key figures
Packaging & labeling market signals
Key market sizes and growth rates highlight expanding demand for packaging and labeling automation across industrial segments.
$11.8 billion
$11.8 billion global market size for flexible packaging in 2024
$2.2 billion
$2.2 billion global market size for industrial labeling and packaging automation in 2024
$1.9 billion
$1.9 billion global market size for packaging machinery in 2023
6.2%
The global industrial labeling market is projected to grow at a CAGR of 6.2% from 2023 to 2032, per IMARC Group (forecas
14.3%
The global RFID market is forecast to grow at a CAGR of 14.3% from 2023 to 2030, per MarketsandMarkets (forecast in mark
source-verifiedfortunebusinessinsights.com · imarcgroup.com · marketsandmarkets.com2024
Reference
Cite This Report
This report is designed to be cited. We maintain stable URLs and versioned verification dates. Copy the format appropriate for your publication below.
APA
Helena Kowalczyk. (2026, February 13). Wrap Industry Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/wrap-industry-statistics
MLA
Helena Kowalczyk. "Wrap Industry Statistics." Gitnux, 13 Feb 2026, https://gitnux.org/wrap-industry-statistics.
Chicago
Helena Kowalczyk. 2026. "Wrap Industry Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/wrap-industry-statistics.
Sources & references
29 datasets cited across this report
+8 additional datasets cited (not shown individually)