European pipe market remains stable despite adverse conditions

Despite the unfavorable circumstances, the pipe market in Europe remained stable in 2023. According to the European Association of Tube and Pipe Manufacturers (etma), deliveries made by manufacturers remained unchanged from the previous year, with a total figure of approximately 11.9 billion units.
The end-user markets experienced uneven growth in their development. Deliveries to the dental sector increased by 2%, while demand in the pharmaceutical and cosmetics markets decreased by 2%. On the other hand, deliveries to the food industry maintained the same result as the previous year.

“Despite the multiple crises we are currently seeing around the world, the tube market remained stable in 2023. The war in Ukraine and Gaza, persistent inflation and associated political and economic uncertainties are weighing on consumer confidence and purchasing behavior. Therefore, the overall result achieved by the European tube industry in 2023 is quite satisfactory”, said etma President Mark Aegler.
Ahead of the European elections, the adoption of a new regulation on packaging in the industry is being discussed. This regulation will include more stringent requirements to ensure the sustainability of packaging, focusing on improving its recyclability and design to facilitate recycling. The packaging industry will have to meet this challenge and offer innovative packaging solutions.

The European tube industry has been focused on developing innovative packaging options. They have achieved improved sustainability through material reduction, simpler packaging designs and easier recyclability. This has resulted in improved efficiency in the use of resources.
“However, the quotas for the use of recycled material in plastic packaging contained in the new EU packaging regulation will pose major challenges for the packaging industry. These challenges can only be solved by appropriate investments throughout the sorting, converting and recycling supply chain and by corresponding progress in the authorization of polyolefin recycling processes in the EU. In fact, the availability of high quality post-consumer recycled plastics remains very limited at present.” Aegler added.

Despite the complicated political and economic situations, the subway transport industry in Europe is cautiously hopeful about the first half of 2024.

“The order backlog in our industry remains satisfactory overall. Moreover, the European tube industry has always proven to be resilient in the crisis years of the past. In addition, energy costs and inflation are declining slightly. On the other hand, the future development of the raw material and freight markets is rather uncertain. However, the biggest challenge for the industry in the coming years will probably be increasingly fierce competition for qualified employees,” he concluded. he concluded.