Prospects for vigorous growth in consumer blow-molded packaging are currently very favorable. According to Mastio, a St. Joseph, Mo., consulting firm specializing in research and market trends in the plastics industry, this market will grow at an annual average rate of 6.1 percent through 2008, reaching 8.6 billion pounds of resin consumed by the end of that year.

A corresponding report, distributed by Bharat Book Bureau during 2006, predicts that U.S. plastic container demand is expected to exceed 200 billion units in 2010, consuming nearly 15 billion pounds of plastic resins. The study attributes a significant share of that upward progress to dramatic increases in consumer demand for single serve containers.

In the processing equipment market, these facts have contributed to optimism reflected by the Packaging Machinery Manufacturers Institute (PMMI) which, in November 2006, announced that it expects U.S. shipments of packaging machinery to grow at a cumulative annual rate of 2.8 percent over the next three years, reaching $6.26 billion by 2008.

Charles Yuska, president and CEO of Arlington, Va.-based PMMI, states: "Packaging machinery end-users are replacing older machines with new models with more advanced technology and innovative designs to increase production speeds and reduce labor costs."

The demand for small single-serve containers for food, milk, juice, nutritional drinks and liquid yogurts is one of the fastest-growing market segments for plastic bottles, not only in the United States but also on a global basis. The trend is driven by many popular applications including these few: school milk programs conversion from paper to plastic, new package developments targeted at the convenience and health food markets, and changing economical factors and consumer habits in Latin American and Asian countries.

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