Growth in 2019 for European tube production
In 2019, the European tube industry managed to expand its overall production despite a difficult economic environment and considerable uncertainty in the markets. The member companies of the European Tube Manufacturers Association (etma) increased their production by 1% to almost 11.5 billion tubes.
Gregor Spengler, etma’s general secretary, said: “The result for 2019 is remarkable given the problematic market conditions. It reflects not only the capability and innovative strength of our industry, but also the growing popularity of the tube with European consumers as a modern, functional, consumer-friendly and sustainable form of packaging.”
Stable demand from the dental care, pharmaceutical and food sectors had a particularly positive effect last year. In contrast, the cosmetics sector tended to be flat, however it still remains the most important market for tubes, accounting for around 45% of all production. It is followed by the markets for toothpaste and the pharmaceutical sector, each of which accounts for 20%. Almost 10% goes into the food industry, with household products and technical/industrial applications accounting for the remaining 5%.
Sales of plastic and aluminium tubes each fell by around 3%. Laminate tubes performed well in contrast, with an increase in sales of just under 8%.
The first quarter of 2020 has also started well, despite the global coronavirus crisis giving rise to considerable uncertainty.
“It’s not possible at this stage to make any sort of serious forecast for the coming months because of the fragility of the global supply chains and the fact that conditions in general can change quickly and dramatically at any time,” says Gregor Spengler.
Etma says the health of the employees of its members is of the highest priority and that the companies have taken appropriate measures concerning hygiene and safety at this time. The association says that the availability of primary materials and transport capacities is also of fundamental importance in order to maintain production and that disruption of the supply chain must be prevented.
