Steel Cans

Steel Cans Global Market Outlook

• The global tinplate can market is expected to grow at 3–4 percent CAGR during 2023E–2027F, to reach ~$31 billion, driven by rising consumption of canned foods and change in consumer purchasing behavior

• Growth is expected to be gradual, as the impact of COVID-19 has had a major impact on sales, demand, and supply of canned food and tinplate cans across the globe

Supply Base for Steel Cans

• The supply base for tinplate cans is consolidated with the top four firms accounting for about 65 percent of the market share in H1 2023

• Production capacities of the global firms are concentrated in the Europe and North American markets, where penetration of tinplate cans in the packaged food segment is high

• New expansions by can makers, such as Crown & Silgan, have been planned for Eastern Europe and Middle East markets over the next two years, to cater to demand from these regions

Global Market Size: Steel Cans

• Growing number of individual consumers would drive the demand for smaller can sizes and reclosable containers that favor on-the-go consumption of packaged foods

• Converters have been investing to reduce overall cost of cans through design innovations to reduce surface area and weight, to minimize the cost difference between plastic and metal containers

• Global demand for food metal cans is expected to grow at about 3.5–4.5 percent CAGR, as a result of increasing penetration of metal containers in food and beverage segments of the emerging markets in APAC and LATAM

• Preservative properties and higher shelf-life offered by metal food cans compared to plastic and paper-based packaging solutions have led to increased preference in the market. The high recyclability of metal packaging has also strengthened its position in the market

• Increasing demand for smaller size packs and multi-packs is driving volume demand in the developed markets of North America and Europe, while also driving up the unit cost of containers

• The global supply base for metal cans is dominated by few large suppliers, such as Silgan, Ball, and Crown Holdings, accounting for major market share, with a few medium to small local players competing for the market, especially in the emerging markets

Industry Drivers and Constraints : Steel Cans

Drivers

Growing Awareness About Sustainability and Reusability of Metal Cans

• Metal cans are highly recyclable compared to plastic and glass containers

• About 70 percent of the metal cans manufactured come from recycled content, which also highly decreases the conversion cost of the containers

Supply Availability

• There is very less risk of supply availability of tinplate raw materials, due to the demand for varied end-use sectors

• Also, owing to the large availability of recyclable materials, there is no shortage of tinplate can materials

Preservative Properties and Higher Shelf-Life

• Metal cans, especially ones made from tinplate, offer high preservative properties and shelf-life, while having low toxicity, high corrosion resistance, and production efficiency. These properties make it highly favorable for food containers

Constraints

Threat from Alternative Packaging Solutions, like Paper and Plastic Packaging

• Metal cans have faced substitution threat from many new innovative paper and flexible plastic packaging concepts that improve their sustainability, while providing similar barrier properties as metal containers

Uncertainty in Raw Material Prices

• Steel prices have fluctuated widely in the last two years, owing to supply–demand dynamics, which has affected tinplate can prices