Plastics closures to continue fast growth in US

Plastic closures will continue to be the fastest growing segment of the US caps market in the years ahead, according to researchers at Freedonia Group. An annual growth rate of 5.7% is forecast up to 2010, taking the market value of plastics closures from $4.23bn (E3.33bn) in 2005 to $5.57bn (E4.39bn) in 2010. In contrast, metal closures will increase by only 1.1% annually to $925m (E729m).

Freedonia said plastic closures will supplant metal in the US as plastic containers increasingly replace glass containers in a variety of food and beverage applications. The overall US demand for caps and closures is expected to rise by 4.8% annually from $5.47bn (E4.31bn) in 2005 to $6.92bn (E5.45bn) in 2010, representing 221 billion units.