Global production of aluminium aerosol cans fell last year following years of stable growth, new data shows.
AEROBAL, the International Organisation of Aluminium Aerosol Container Manufacturers, said the generally weaker global economy in 2019 was to blame for a fall in worldwide production to 5.8 billion cans, compared with more than 6 billion cans in 2018, representing a decline of 3.7%.
AEROBAL’s Secretary General Gregor Spengler said the contraction is not cause for alarm.
“Given the very difficult economic environment, this is a rather moderate decline compared with other industries, and it follows record results in recent years,” he noted.
Praising aluminium’s recyclability, high intrinsic value and good record in terms of sustainability, he added that “aerosol cans made from the light metal have been able to maintain the strong role they play in the global packaging market”.
Spengler further noted that he was “confident about the future despite the dip in demand”.
Within the aluminium aerosol cans market, the beauty and personal care sub-sector for deodorants bucked the overall downwards trend, with production up 2.4% in 2019.
This was mitigated by declines in hair care, in addition to household products and technical applications.
Europe’s aluminium aerosol production dipped 2.8% year-on-year in 2019, but it was the Americas markets and Asia which proved the greatest millstone around the industry’s neck last year, falling 5.2% and 8.4% respectively.
Looking forward to 2020, AEROBAL said continuing global economic issues plus the pressure from the spread of the coronavirus (and its impact on supply chains and consumer behaviour) made a reliable forecast difficult.
But it added that, in the medium term, aluminium aerosol cans’ functional and sustainability benefits should put the industry in a good position.