Report Overview

The global commodity plastic market is being driven by the widespread use of commodity plastic in packaging, consumer goods, electronics, automobiles, and other industries. The global market is also expected to grow due to an increase in demand for use-and-throw plastics and personal protective equipment kits.

The global commodity plastic market reached USD 466.40 billion in 2020 and is projected to reach USD 689.05 billion by 2027, at a CAGR of 6.1% during the forecast period. The global commodity plastic market is being driven by the widespread use of commodity plastic in packaging, consumer goods, electronics, automobiles, and other industries. The rise in the construction and automotive sectors and the growing health care infrastructure is also propelling the demand for the commodity plastic market. Furthermore, the market is predicted to grow due to rising demand for flexible packaging in the packaging industry due to attributes such as reduced cost, material durability, product availability, and reliability compared to rigid packaging.

Source: BlueWeave Consulting

Global Commodity Plastic Overview:

Commodity plastics are lighter and structurally stable, and resistant to abrasion. Commodity plastics can be molded into a variety of shapes, which makes them ideal for packaging. They're easy to recycle and can be molded into a number of shapes, making them ideal for packaging purposes. In the future years, rising demand for food and beverage packaging bottles, trays, crates, and other items is predicted to fuel demand for commodity plastics. As compared to other plastics, commodity plastics are inexpensive and have relatively fewer mechanical properties. They are widely used in the manufacturing of disposable plates, cups, glasses, and others.

Global Commodity Plastic Forecast and Trend

Growth Drivers

The Flourishing Packaging Industry

The growth of the commodities plastic market has fueled the packaging industry due to the dominance of e-commerce sector. According to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) e-commerce, global e-commerce sales jumped to USD 26.7 trillion in 2019, up 4% from 2018.Customers nowadays prefer to buy more goods from online retailers, which is causing a large demand for packaging materials. Commodity plastic is in high demand due to properties such as low cost, low mechanical stress, and abrasion resistance, which are essential in the packaging business. Packaging bottles, trays, crates, etc., for food and beverage packaging, is expected to drive the demand for commodity plastics in the upcoming years, thereby driving the growth of global commodity plastic market.

Figure: Online Retail Sales of Commodity Plastic 2018-2020

Source: UNCTAD

Restraints

Increasing Concern toward Environment

The growth of the commodity plastic sector is being stifled by the government's severe environmental restrictions and prohibitions on plastic waste. Low degradation rates of plastic waste degrade soil nutrients, leading to soil degradation. Plastic is sometimes dumped into water bodies such as oceans, lakes, rivers, and ponds; this pollutes the water and affects the health of aquatic animals. Additionally, the growing awareness among the public regarding environmental safety and hazardous effects of disposing of plastic into the environment is hampering market growth.

Impact of COVID-19 in the industry

Global economies have been disrupted by the COVID-19-induced pandemic. As a result, the economies of several industries were hindered. Many sectors that use commodity plastic, such as automotive, textile, construction, and electronics, saw significant declines in demand, resulting in the slow growth of this market. The shrinking demand from consumers caused many automotive plant manufacturers in the United States, China, and Europe to shut down plants. However, there was a slight increase in demand from applications, such as pharmaceutical packaging, consumer goods, and food and beverage packaging, which positively influenced commodity plastic's market growth.

Global Commodity Plastic Market: By Product Type

Based on product types, the global commodity plastic market is segmented into polyethylene (PE), polyvinyl chloride, polystyrene, polypropylene, and others. Globally, polyethylene has dominated the market as it is the most-preferred raw material for commodity plastics. The rising PE application in durable consumer products, packaging, and medical & pharmaceutical industries is expected to drive the growth of the segment over the forecast period. In addition, PE is used to manufacture other advanced polymers, such as polyethylene terephthalate (PET), and high-density polyethylene (HDPE), which are used in high and advanced technical performance applications. Thus, the factors mentioned above are driving the growth of the PE segment, which in turn is favoring the growth of the global commodity plastic market.

Global Commodity Plastic Market: By Application

Based on applications, the commodity plastic market is categorized into packaging, consumer goods, electronics, automotive, textile, pharmaceuticals, and others. Among these, the packaging segment holds the largest share in the commodity plastic market. Packaging is a necessity in industries such as food & beverage, transport & shipment, electronics, and others to maintain quality, preserve the product, and ensure that the customer receives their product as wanted. The rising demand for cheap, cost-effective, and flexible packaging material owing to its strength, durability, and recyclability is expected to fuel the commodity plastic market.

Source: BlueWeave Consulting

Global Commodity Plastic Market: Regional insights

The global commodity plastic market is segmented into five regions—North America, Europe, the Asia-Pacific, Latin America, and the Middle East & Africa. Among these regions, the Asia Pacific accounts for the highest share in the commodity plastic market. As a result of the growing demand in the packaging and medical & pharmaceuticals sectors in developing nations such as India, China, and Japan, the Asia-Pacific region is likely to be the fastest growing market during the forecast period as well. India is the world's largest producer of generic drugs and the largest manufacturer of vaccines. Furthermore, China is the world's leading manufacturer of passenger cars. As a result, strong demand from the end-user industry has emerged as a key factor in the organic growth of the commodity plastic market in this region.

Source: BlueWeave Consulting

Competitive Landscape

The Key Players in Commodity Plastic Market are Exxon Mobil (US), LG Chem (South Korea), Sumitomo Chemical (Japan), The Dow Chemical Company (US), SABIC (Saudi Arabia), BASF SE (Germany), LyondellBasell (Netherlands), Sinopec (China), Ineos (Switzerland), Formosa Plastics (Taiwan), Mitsubishi Chemical (Japan), Borealis AG (Austria), Chevron Phillips Chemical (US), ENI SpA (Italy), Reliance Industries (India), Braskem (Brazil), Hanwha Chemical (South Korea), Lotte Chemical (South Korea), Indian Oil (India), Haldia Petrochemicals (India), Nova Chemicals (Canada), Qenos Pty (Australia), Qatar Petroleum (Qatar), Westlake Chemical (US), and PTT Global Chemical (Thailand).The market players compete based on the given product quality and the new and cost-effective manufacturing process, providing them with better yield and optimizing the process for more and better production.

Recent Developments

• In January 2021, The Dow chemical company and Plastigaur announced the successful commercialization of collation shrink films using recycled plastic.
• In December 2020, Blue Sky Energy (US) chose LyondellBasell's Polypropylene Technology for a new facility in Wenzhou, Zhejiang Province, China. Also in May 2020, Advanced Global Investment Company (Saudi Arabia) chose LyondellBasell's Polypropylene Technology for a new facility.

Scope of the Report

Scope of the Report

By Product Type

• Polyethylene
• Polyvinyl Chloride
• Polystyrene
• Polypropylene
• Others

By Applications

• Packaging
• Consumer Goods
• Electronics
• Automotive
• Textile
• Pharmaceuticals
• Others

By Region

• The Asia Pacific
• North America
• Europe
• The Middle East & Africa
• Latin America