COVID-19 Impact on the Insulated Packaging in Chemicals and Materials Industry
ANALYSIS ON IMPACT OF COVID-19 ON THE GLOBAL INSULATED PACKAGING MARKET
Manufacturers mostly utilize insulated packaging to preserve the nutritional content and freshness of their products. This market's worldwide trade will be driven by sophisticated and improved transportation infrastructure that allows items to be moved from one location to another without damage. External factors, such as air and temperature, do not affect the real operation of insulated packaging, which is referred to as product packaging.
However, the spread of COVID-19 is an unprecedented worldwide public health crisis that has impacted nearly every business, and its long-term consequences are expected to have an influence on industry growth throughout the projection period. COVID-19 has resulted in changes in consumer behavior and demand, purchasing patterns, supply chain rerouting, current market dynamics, and substantial government engagement. Economic insecurity caused by the pandemic had also triggered the investors in both the public and private sectors to reconsider the investment decisions in terms of taking up new construction-based projects.
COVID-19 had several impacts on the insulated packaging sector with increasing demand among selected end-markets including food and healthcare. With most physical retail stores being shut during the lockdown, online portals were in a boom period. Retailers who never had an online presence have been forced to shift their business to e-commerce to ensure survival which in turn increased the demand for insulated packages. Also, the packaging sector has witnessed a longer-term change in shopping habits with more reliance on e-commerce platforms for essential products and thereby leading to the growth of insulated packaging.
AFTERMATH OF COVID-19 AND GOVERNMENT INITIATIVE TO BOOST THE GLOBAL INSULATED PACKAGING MARKET
The government had taken many steps to ensure the availability of raw materials by keeping track of the supply and demand of the intermediate goods for producing packaging materials. Alongside, the government of various countries is also taking action like providing subsidies for raw materials, supporting the domestic producers with short-term loans, among others, to assist SMEs (small and medium enterprises) and local manufacturers engaged in the production of insulated packaging boxes and cartons.
For instance,
The government of India intends to construct green infrastructure for the e-commerce sector to balance environmental efficiency with energy conservation, fuelling the demand for insulated packaging materials.
Therefore, the government of every country has supported the manufacturing units of the insulated packaging sector by providing them various aids and small-term investments to continue their operation even during the tough time.
STRATEGIC DECISIONS FOR MANUFACTURERS AFTER COVID-19 TO GAIN COMPETITIVE MARKET SHARE
The manufacturing sector of insulated packaging materials was one of the most damaged sectors by COVID-19. The new Coronavirus developed in China, which is home to the vast majority of facilities supplying raw materials to various production units across the world. Several steps were taken to increase international cooperation among the countries to promote investments and also to improve the ease of doing business inside the nations. Also, various relief measures were provided for the middle market and large businesses in the packaging industry. New and existing projects were given a kick start by inviting technological innovations supported by the government.
For instance,
Rapid industrialization and urbanization in India, China, and other Asian nations, together with the adoption of smart and energy-efficient technologies used for packaging purposes, have a favorable impact on insulated packaging market demand.
IMPACT ON PRICE
The worldwide insulated packaging market is extremely fragmented, with several small and big competitors competing on price and quality. Due to the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, the demand for packaging materials had seen a severe downfall since May 2020, resulting in the fluctuation of the prices of raw materials used for making smart boxes and containers. The rise in prices of basic materials caused by the pandemic, as well as a scarcity of stock with wholesalers, had posed a problem for many small and large-scale projects, affecting the global insulated packaging market.
M&A activities in the industry slowed down in the short term, due to the spread of COVID-19. As the market is fragmented, therefore the disruptions in the supply chain and shortage in the availability of raw materials had further affected the prices of the insulated packages.
IMPACT ON DEMAND
The major sector of the packaging market is the food industry and e-commerce business as a major part of the demand for packaging boxes comes from these units. Insulated packaging manufacturers were in high demand from various industries such as food and drink, medicines, and other essentials among others.
The restaurant and hotel sector was one of the sectors that suffered the burden of COVID-19. The demand for restaurant foods was likewise sluggish, as people were mainly prioritizing the health requirements over any other requirements. Furthermore, the emergence of remote-based work facilities had reduced the need for office buildings along with its canteen foods and hence affecting the global insulated packaging market.
IMPACT ON SUPPLY CHAIN
The global Coronavirus pandemic had put the contemporary global supply chain to the test like never before. The pandemic had a genuinely global impact, causing many fractures in numerous supply chains like component suppliers, production locations, and in the last mile to the end-users. The production process came to a pause due to the shortage of labourers in almost all the manufacturing sites. Due to a ban on interstate travel, the supply chain also suffered as a result of the emigration of migrant workers. The shutdown of distribution and trade routes has affected the supply channel, resulting in the rise of the operating costs of raw materials. During that situation, all the manufacturers of road marking materials were facing issues with the timely availability of raw materials.
During the COVID-19 outbreak, the insulated packaging industry had experienced supply disruptions and manufacturing in-capacity due to excessive reliance on China. The manufacturers will be more inclined towards accessing their supply-chain vulnerabilities and reducing dependence on China and focus more on domestic suppliers alongside considering other dependable options.
CONCLUSION
Insulated packaging boxes are widely utilized in the food sector and e-commerce sector due to their numerous applications, varying from the packing of food and different goods in the container for transportation. The lockdown coupled with the panic of shortage has led to stockpiling of basic products resulting in a spike of consumer packaging products. The COVID-19 pandemic had caused substantial obstacles to global supply chains. Due to a dip in restaurant activities, the demand for insulated packaging materials had faced a sharp decline in many regions. Repeated nationwide curfews and shutdowns continue to hamper or even halt the movement of raw materials and completed goods, causing insulated packaging manufacturers to suffer. Manufacturing and distribution issues related to the packaging industry were likely the most visible disturbances to the insulated packaging market. While the industry was expected to witness continuous demand even in uncertain times, the manufacturers were playing safe by taking proactive measures to cut down costs and to protect their profitability.
However, the government of various countries had opted for various policies to strengthen international partnerships, diversification of suppliers, and innovation for reducing the need for certain resources, and circular economy techniques to boost economic activities of the entire world.
