Injection molding is a manufacturing technique for producing plastic products such as components and parts, which are used across various end-user industries. Plastic injection molding is chiefly used in packaging applications to manufacture packaging parts and components to increase the aesthetic value and consumer friendliness of the packaging products. Additionally, injection-molded plastics have various benefits such as increased shelf life of food products, increased durability, optical clarity, and reduced wear & tear.
Plastics are widely used, similar to glass, and can be used as substitutes in frozen food packaging, vegetable packaging, bakery packaging, and ready meal packaging owing to their characteristics such as reduced packaging weight and availability of a wide range of packaging designs. The changing consumers’ preference and demand for packaged water and food are increasing the need for plastics. In regions such as Asia-Pacific, North America, and Europe, the demand for pharmaceuticals has increased at a rapid rate. This is predicted to increase the demand for plastic injection molded plastics for pharmaceutical packaging applications. On account of these factors, the growing demand for plastics in various packaging applications is expected to boost the growth of the global injection molded plastics market.
As electronic parts are reduced in size, micro injection molding and very high molding tolerances provide high precision molding that allows high quality while creating smaller parts for smaller products. Some of the electronic components where injection molding is commonly used are earphone cables and plugs, LEDs and assemblies, motor housings, electrical relays and switches, sensors, temperature control, inkjet printers, computer boards, and housings, cell phone components and covers, electrical conduit, electrical tool housings, and many more. The global consumer electronics industry has been growing rapidly worldwide over the years, owing to the consistently increasing demand for electronic gadgets. This increasing electronic usage is demanding molded plastics surging the global market.
The outbreak of COVID-19 has consequences in various industries, such as transportation, electronics, automotive, and other industrial manufacturing, which may affect the plastic injection molding market. Since demand for plastic injection molding is associated with the electronics and automotive industry that is directly linked to GDP growth, this situation is creating many challenges for the global plastic injection molding market.
Owing to the pandemic impact, the activity in the commercial aerospace market may take a long duration to return to the levels observed in early 2020. The spread of COVID-19 further impacted the electronics supply chain and created a shortage of components like chips, semiconductors, circuit boards, and other components. This shortage in the supply chain led many automotive manufacturers and consumer electronics manufacturer to halt their production or produce with reduced capacity.
Asia-Pacific will hold the largest market share during the forecast period due to increasing demand for plastics in various industries, especially in healthcare, automotive, electronics, pharmaceuticals, packaging, baby products, and construction. The Asia-Pacific blow-molded plastic market was valued at USD 45562 million in 2021 and is expected to be valued at USD 71046 million by 2030 at a CAGR of 5%. Europe will account for the second-largest market share and was valued at USD 41821 million in 2021, owing to the increasing demand in construction, healthcare technology, and food packaging.
North America will witness steady growth, with the US occupying the majority of market value. Developing medical technologies, increasing usage of smartphones, the need for lightweight car components, and developing the construction industry will boost the market share. South America and Middle East & Africa will account for competitively lower growth, owing to the developing economy and the pandemic impact.
The key players in the global plastic injection molding market are