Packaging demand in the U.S. is forecast to increase 2.8 percent annually from 2005 to $131.0 billion in 2010.

Demand for plastic packaging is projected to expand 4.4 percent per year through 2010, the fastest pace of all packaging products. Plastic will continue to expand its share of the market as technical advances enable further supplantation of alternative materials. The food market will continue to account for the largest share of packaging demand in 2010, or $47.8 billion. Source reduction efforts are promoting the use of flexible packaging products such as bags, sacks and pouches, which contain about 80 percent less material than equivalent rigid containers. These and other trends are presented in the new series of Freedonia Focus reports from The Freedonia Group, Inc., a Cleveland-based industry research firm.