The corrugated board market - Italy

1.1 Definition and presentation

Corrugated board, or more commonly cardboard, is usually composed of two flat paper surfaces within which is a layer of corrugated paper. The whole is held together through the use of glues of natural origin. Due to its special composition, cardboard turns out to be particularly light and strong, and it is for this reason, that it is mainly used as a packaging material.

In addition to being regarded as one of the most economical packaging modes, given its high biodegradability, corrugated cardboard also turns out to be characterized by high sustainability and is often used as a classic example of circular economy implementation. The environmentally friendly nature of this material is expected to greatly benefit its growth, making it favored over other packaging materials.

In Italy, after a period of decline coinciding with the economic crisis of 2010, the corrugated cardboard market has experienced excellent growth in more recent years. Of particular note in this regard are the excellent data characterizing the food sector, one of the most important customers for corrugated board producers. Other outlet markets of particular importance to corrugated board manufacturers are the household appliances, furniture, engineering industry, etc.

Although the primacy in corrugated cardboard production in the European scene belongs to Germany, Italy is still in an excellent position along with France and Great Britain.

As for the national geographical distribution, not all regions show consistent growth and production levels: in fact, most of the companies operating in the field of cardboard production turn out to be concentrated in Lombardy and Emilia Romagna, while Tuscany is the only region to record negative data in terms of growth.

The growth of the corrugated cardboard market can also be explained in relation to the boom in e-commerce: the Italian population's greater propensity to buy products online has been a strong stimulus for cardboard producers, making it necessary to have a greater quantity of the latter for home package delivery.