COVID-19 Impact on Air Cushion Packaging in Chemical and Materials Industry
INTRODUCTION
Air Cushion
An air cushion is an inflatable bag made of various types of fabric or plastic which could be inflated to provide a cushioning to surfaces. Air cushions can be considered as an updated form of bubble wraps but unlike bubble wrap, inflatable air cushions have a check valve which allows it to be inflated and deflated at the will of the user.
The most common materials used for the manufacturing of modern air cushions are Polyethylene (PE) a polymer widely used in the manufacture of plastics. A PE air cushion has two layers of PE films with air valve film in between them. All these three layers are then heat pressed in a high-temperature mould to melt them together. The high-temperature mould could be in various shapes and sizes and is responsible for imparting various styles, shape and types to the air cushion.
The air valve is a vital part of the air cushions as they enable it to be inflated and deflated according to the requirement of the users. The cushions are commonly shipped and warehoused flat.
Since the pressure of the air inside the inflated air cushions is more than that of the atmosphere, the cushions will exhibit a strong compressive strength and flexibility. Air cushions are primarily used as protective and void filling materials used as block and brace, wrapping, and corner protection in the packaging industry.
Uses of Air Cushion in packaging
The versatility of air cushions enables them to have a wide range of applications in shipping. The soft and non-abrasive nature of these air cushions makes allows them to be incorporated with glass, ceramic, and other delicate materials. Air cushions generally have two applications in packaging industry:
- Cushioning: Transport of materials is a tedious process that involves many adversities. Improper handling of products could inflict damages to the transported good particularly if the goods are fragile. Air cushioning can be a really good way to reduce these damages to an extent as it could protect the transported good by creating a bracing between the products and the rigid sides of the box. Unlike paper fillers, bubble wraps and packing peanuts, air cushions can be properly placed around the object thereby almost completely immobilizing the product within the box. Air cushions also tend to remain in their place during the entire course of transit. Air cushions are commonly placed around, above and below the product for total protection and could prevent damage such as scratches inflicted to the products by rough handling during transit as they tend to be non-abrasive, and delicate.
- Filling Voids: When shipping lightweight and small objects, which do not take up a lot of space, enormous free space or void is left in the container or package. If not properly filled, the voids could result in the object is moving around a lot inside the package which could impart scratches and even lead to breaking down of fragile materials. As a result, the voids need to be filled without the addition of extra weight as this would skyrocket shipping costs. Air pillows are very suitable for this purpose as they weigh almost nothing and offer a quick and easy way to take up space because of their availability in varied shape and size.
Advantages of Air Cushions
Air cushions are extremely versatile as they offer a varied range of sizes and shape enabling the users to have options while filling voids to protect products. These air cushions work well with many shipping needs as they add nearly zero weight to shipments, thereby saving businesses millions on shipping costs as other bulkier packaging materials such as packing peanuts tend to be more expensive.
Air pillows are convenient and easy to use and warehouse since they are inflated only on demand. Since air cushions are stored in its deflated take up very less floor space of the shipping facilities.
Although air cushions look and feel such as regular plastic, most are made from recyclable or biodegradable materials such as biodegradable film or HDPE film. This fact enables them to be recycled thereby reducing their environmental impact. Thus air cushions are an eco-friendly alternative to other packing materials such as bubble wraps, packing peanuts, among others.
Disadvantages of Air Cushions
Since the air cushions have relatively thin film and each pillow is filled with air, they could easily be “popped.” This makes them ineffective to be used in the packaging of products with sharp edges and which have substantial weight.
Though air pillows provide shock protection for fragile items, they might not be sufficient to protect delicate products such as small figurines.
Nonetheless, they can be combined with bubble wrap in these instances to overcome these drawbacks.
Air Cushion Packaging Market - Scope and Market Size
The market had an estimated size of USD 2.7 billion in 2018 which is an implication of its substantial potential in terms of sales and growth. The market is expected to achieve further development in terms of sales and profit and expected to reach around 5.8 billion USD in terms of sales in a period of 6 years between 2021 and 2027, achieving a CAGR of 9.0%.
The major factors that support the growth of the market are the increased consumer spending, growth of e-commerce platforms, and consumer awareness on ecological parameters and preference for environment-conscious brands.
Additionally, the introduction of flexible packaging brought humongous transformations on several areas of sustainability, convenience, increased penetration of e-commerce and customer preferences. These preferences will substantially create a wide demand for safe and efficient packaging options that ensure safe and protected transits of products, which in turn point towards to products that could fill voids, block, brace and protect the corner of the product inside its packaging. Air cushions offer all these benefits in addition to added benefits of being lightweight, portable, require low storage space. All these parameters have substantially affected the growth of the market.
The market has several major players these include Pregis, Sealed Air, Smurfit Kappa, Geami, iVEX Protective Packaging, Macfarlane Group, Polyair, Shorr Packaging, Guangzhou PackBest Air Packaging Co Ltd, Airfil Protective Packaging Ltd, Storopack Hans Reichenecker GmbH, Automated Packaging Systems Inc, 3G Packaging Corp, Shandong Xinniu Packing Co Ltd, DynaCorp, Smurfit Kappa, Geami, iVEX Protective Packaging, Macfarlane Group, FP International, Atlantic Packaging, and Veritiv Corporation, among others.
Based on end-users market is segmented into electronics, consumer goods, pharmaceuticals, foods and beverages, and cosmetic & personal care. Further, the market is segmented into cushioning, void filling, corner protection, wrapping and block & bracing based on the application for which air cushion is used.
COVID-19 Impact on Air Cushion Packaging
Even though, COVID-19 pandemic severely affected the economy as lockdowns were implemented across the globe and transit between countries have been banned to curtail the number of infected cases. These precautionary measures have made growth and sales a challenge for all economic sectors. Although markets are recovering, the pace at which this recovery takes place is very slow. The primary effect COVID-19 had on the market is the inability to import raw materials from different places, manufacture products, decreased sales and export of products, as well as the substantial fall in export and sales of all the markets were the product packing required air cushion packaging materials for safe transit.
However, though the market got tarnished due to the after-effects of COVID-19, the market is slowly kicking back and achieving its former shine, thanks to the growth in the e-commerce sector. As the number of consumers of E-commerce has risen, the demand for secure and problem-free packaging options required by this market also increased which have boosted the market substantially.
Increase in consumption of electronic goods, during COVID-19 is another substantial factor. The lockdown has improved the popularity of electronics devices to another level and since these devices require to be carefully packed due to their sensitive nature, have boosted the demand of air cushion packaging, as they are very sensitive and sturdy in terms of protection they offer. As a result, this increment in the demands of electronic devices should be necessarily considered as a booster to the market.
Further, the gained popularity of home decoration and personal care during lockdown have lifted these market along with the air cushion packaging materials as these products particularly depend on air-cushioned packing materials for safe packaging and transit.
In short, these three parameters are currently pushing the market up back to its former glory and even helping to exceed the former. In addition to that, the loosening of COVID-19 restrictions is slowly improving the sales of various other sectors which could also help in projecting the sales of market upwards. All this would help the market to achieve the predicted growth of 9.0% in terms of CAGR by 2027.
Conclusion
To recapitulate, Though COVID-19 has significantly affected all the manufacturing and sales, the market is slowly reviving back to its former glory. The loosening of COVID-19 restrictions has almost brought the production in this sector back to normal as well as improved the sales and exports of several other industries that invariably depend on the market and materials for the safe transit of their products. This is improving the sales and profits of the market.
However, the major booster that is pushing this market is the e-commerce sector which received a substantial boost due to COVID-19. This improved demand of e-commerce along with an increased demand for electronic gadgets, home décor products and self-care products are expected to be the primary boosters of the market, capable of raising its production, sales and profit in the predicted future.
