The wood packaging market, a market for the future
Paris, January 21, 2021 – Wooden packaging is asserting itself as a true solution of the future, responding to the challenges of preservation, logistics, storage, and marketing, according to wood packaging organizations in France. To promote the advantages of this packaging, three French professional organizations have collaborated in sponsoring a new study. Carried out by the firm GALLILEO, the study provides updated data and key figures for the wood packaging market. The Wood Packaging Division consists of SIEL (light packaging), SIELA (industrial packaging/crates), and the FNB/SYPAL Pallet Commission.
Affirming the industrial performance of the French wood packaging sector
The study provides an updated picture of the market (2019 data). Thus, in 2019, the wooden packaging market in France represented more than 1.5 billion euros, an increase of 2.6% per year on average since 2015. In comparison, the construction wood market was 1.9 billion euros.
The wood packaging sector is also a job-creating industry. The 860 companies that manufacture and repair wooden packaging represent 17,400 direct jobs throughout France.
Regarding production, in 2019, 1.1 billion light packages and 128 million pallets were sold. This total included 46.5 million new pallets and 78.5 million recycled pallets. A total of 98.5 million used pallets were recovered, with 6.5 million of them reduced to fiber. There were 56.5 million recovered pallets reusable “as is” and 35.5 million units that required repair.
As for the industrial packaging and crates sector, with production very often associated with logistics services, it has a turnover of 413 million euros.
To ensure this production, the industry consumes:
– 513,000 m3 of logs.
– 1.8 million m3 of sawn wood.
– 175,000 m3 of other supplies, which are already processed wood products such as OSB panels, etc.
In terms of marketing, wooden packaging is present in all industrial activity sectors, including 46% in the manufacturing industry and 34% in the agro-food industry. France remains the majority destination market for wood packaging produced since almost all packaging (83%) is sold in France less than 300 km from the place of production of the packaging.
These are all figures that highlight the economic importance of wood as a packaging material.
See more details in the France wood packaging infographic (in French).
Meeting the needs of French wood packaging users and consumers
Wooden packaging offers many advantages. It provides a technical response that is perfectly suited to market expectations and displays differentiating advantages, in particular:
- A fast and tailor-made logistics solution produced with high technicality.
- Robustness, solidity, durability.
- Economic competitiveness.
- Suitability for food contact.
They also meet the precepts of the circular economy and are an eco-responsible choice:
- Material derived from a sustainable, renewable resource.
- Recyclable, reusable, and repairable.
- Energy-efficient manufacturing processes.