Global paper packaging industry - statistics & facts
The popularity of paper packaging soared over the past decades, becoming a staple in various industries, including food, consumer electronics, and protective packaging. Some of the main types of paper packaging include folding cartons, paper bags and sacks, and corrugated boxes, commonly used for shipping heavy goods due to their high strength. Containerboard, used to manufacture corrugated boxes, is the most consumed paper type worldwide. Paper packaging is also considered more sustainable than plastic. Because of this, several major companies such as Apple have shifted towards using mostly paperboard packaging for their products.
The increase in paperboard packaging production in recent decades has mainly come from China, which is now the world’s leading packaging paper and paperboard producer. In 2000, China produced 17.4 million metric tons of packaging paper and paperboard, and by 2023 its annual output had quadrupled to over 82 million metric tons.
The size of the global paper packaging market is forecast to further develop over the incoming years, as the projected containerboard consumption will experience a 20 percent increase by 2030s.
Rising demand for paper packaging
With the rise of digitization, many feared that the paper industry would be rendered obsolete, but the paper packaging sector has not only weathered the storm but also experienced significant growth. Although the increased use of digital media has caused global graphic paper production to fall more than 40 percent since 2010, packaging paper and paperboard production has increased considerably during this period to a value of 258.7 million metric tons in 2023. One of the biggest drivers of this growth has been the rise of e-commerce.The increase in paperboard packaging production in recent decades has mainly come from China, which is now the world’s leading packaging paper and paperboard producer. In 2000, China produced 17.4 million metric tons of packaging paper and paperboard, and by 2023 its annual output had quadrupled to over 82 million metric tons.
Leading paper packaging companies
Paper packaging is the most widely used packaging material globally, so it is not surprising that paper packaging manufacturers are among the leading companies in the packaging industry. The largest paper packaging company is United States-based WestRock, which reported revenue of more than 20 billion U.S. dollars in 2023. One of WestRock’s main products is corrugated packaging, with sales amounting to over 10 billion U.S. dollars in 2023. Other major companies operating in the paper packaging industry include International Paper, Oji Holdings, Stora Enso, and Smurfit Kappa.The size of the global paper packaging market is forecast to further develop over the incoming years, as the projected containerboard consumption will experience a 20 percent increase by 2030s.
