The U.S. glass bottle market is running into a supply shortage caused by high demand for alcohol, raw materials being reallocated to produce vaccine vials and supply-chain disruptions arising from the shipping-container crisis. Confronted with a labor shortage, the high demand for glass could incentivize developments in recycling that features a substantial potential for growth because currently, only 31% of glass bottles in the U.S. are recycled.
LOS ANGELES, Jan. 05, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- A recent report by a market research firm IndexBox says that in 2020, the U.S. glass bottle and container market grew by 0.6%, reaching about 4.4M tonnes or $6.7B in monetary terms. Approximately 25% of the American market is supplied by foreign products, mainly from Mexico (29% of total U.S. imports), China (18%) and Taiwan (10%).
Despite imports rising to $1.6B in the first ten months of 2021 (+22% compared to the same period in 2020), the U.S. is facing a glass bottle deficit. Beverage producers must search for alternatives such as plastic packaging. The key factors causing this shortfall are the high demand for alcohol and the increasing number of recycled bottles used for producing glass vials for vaccines. Another factor inciting the scarcity of glass bottles is the supply chain disruption in Asia, rising from a deficit in shipping containers.
There is excellent potential to increase glass recycling and expand the raw material base in the U.S. Since glass is 100% recyclable, implementing a recycling process could replace up to 95% of first-use materials with second-use. Even though in the past 40 years, the amount of recycled material grew by a factor of four, the EPA calculates that recycled glass only accounts for a 31% share. In these conditions, second-use products are used in 40% of beer and non-alcoholic beverage bottles, 40% of wine and alcoholic beverage bottles and 15.0% for food and other glass bottles. In 2018, there was a total of 12.3M tonnes of waste glass, but only 3M was recycled while at the same time, wasted glass amounted to 7.6M.
Currently, in the U.S., more than 40 factories are focused on production, and more than 60 operate for glass recycling. The high demands placed on this sector during the existing labor shortage could drive developments in far more cost-effective technologies, such as a Curbside Recycling System. According to the Container Recycling Institute, Curbside Recycling of 1000 tonnes of glass would require about eight personnel while at the same time using a Deposit Return System is from 11 to 38 times more labor-intensive.
U.S. Glass Bottle Imports
Glass bottle and container imports into the U.S. totaled 1.6M tonnes in 2020, growing by 2.3% on 2019 figures. In value terms, the purchases reached $1.4B, IndexBox estimates.
Mexico (436K tonnes), China (339K tonnes) and Taiwan, Chinese (188K tonnes) were the main suppliers to the U.S., together comprising 61% of total volume. Canada, France, India, Germany, Italy, Chile, Poland and Turkey lagged somewhat behind, together comprising a further 26%.
In value terms, Mexico ($450M), China ($252M) and Taiwan, Chinese ($122M) constituted 57% of the total imports. These countries were followed by Canada, France, Italy, Germany, India, Poland, Chile and Turkey, which together accounted for a further 31%.
The average glass bottle price stood at $911 per tonne in 2020, dropping by -1.8% against the previous year. Prices varied noticeably by the country of origin; the country with the highest cost was Italy ($2,094 per tonne), while the price for Turkey ($387 per tonne) was amongst the lowest. Last year, the most notable rate of growth in terms of prices was attained by Poland, while the prices for the other major suppliers experienced more modest paces of growth.
About IndexBox
IndexBox is a market research firm developing an AI-driven market intelligence platform that helps business analysts find actionable insights and make data-driven decisions. The platform provides data on consumption, production, trade, and prices for more than 10K+ different products across 200 countries.
For more information, please visit
Website https://www.indexbox.io
Twitter https://twitter.com/indexbox
YouTube https://www.youtube.com/IndexBox
LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/indexbox-marketing/
Companies Mentioned in the Report. Glass Bottle Manufacturers.
Owens-Illinois, Hearthmark, Ardagh Glass Packaging, Vitro Packaging, Anchor Glass Container Corporation, Ardagh Glass Inc., Schott Pharmaceutical Packaging, Gallo Glass Company, West Tampa Glass Company, Saxco International, Glass Energy Company, Saint Gobain Grains & Powders, Piramal Glass - USA, SGD North America, Amcor Pharmaceutical Packaging USA, Owens-Illinois De Puerto Rico, Pacific Vial Mfg., Assem - Pak, Chattanooga Labeling Systems, Nipro Glass Americas Corporation, S.G.D. North America, Leone Industries Inc., Best Quality Water System of Florida, Pochet of America, Longhorn Glass Manufacturing, Arkansas Glass Container Corporation, Rocky Mountain Bottle Company, H3o, Cus II, Pacific Market, Owens-Brockway Packaging, Owens-Illinois Group, Bprex Plastic Packaging, Certainteed Corporation
Sources
U.S. Glass Bottle and Container Market. Analysis and Forecast to 2025
World - Glass Ampoules for Packing of Goods - Market Analysis, Forecast, Size, Trends and Insights
U.S. Flat Glass Market. Analysis and Forecast to 2030
World - Bottles, Jars and Other Containers of Glass
U.S. - Bottles, Jars and Other Containers Of Glass
