THE CUBE. WORLD Packaging Machinery FORECAST 2022 – 2025. 6TH EDITION YEAR 2022, MECS-UCIMA

This sixth edition of the MECS Cube presents the evo- This sixth edition of the MECS Cube presents the evolution and forecast growth of packaging machinery world markets for the four-year period 2022-2025. The model starts from the reliable final 2020 and preliminary 2021 data, on which the two-year pandemic has deeply impacted and forced a revision of previous forecasts. The new estimates of the post-Covid scenario were then further revised in light of the extraordinary global situation created by the Russian-Ukrai- nian conflict, which exacerbated the already emerging dynamics of infla- tion, price increases and shortage of energy, raw materials, and logistics. The extension and revision of the forecasts was implemented through the economic and econometric analysis of multiple national and interna- tional data sources, the assessment of all the causes of global instability that markets will face not only from the point of view of the main macro- economic variables (growth, consumption, international trade, prices, exchange rates), but also of the possible instabilities due to uncertainty about the evolution of socio-political and demographic crises taking pla- ce in numerous countries. The restatements are updated to April 2022. The main results confirm the severity of the current shock: the growth rate of global packaging machinery sales shows a major slowdown compared to what was expected in the pre-pandemic scenario. Ac- cording to MECS forecasts, the average annual growth rate will stand at +2% between now and 2025, which is significantly lower not only than the trend predicted before the Covid emergency (+4.1%), but also than the previous year's estimates (+2.1). This leads to the calculation that €8 billion of the potential market will be missing globally in 2025, compared to the scenario predicted before the pandemic (an aggra- vation compared to the gap of more than €6 billion predicted in 2021). In fact, the global packaging machinery market will be 50.13 billion euros in 2025, according to MECS new forecast, whereas it could have grown to 58.27 billion if pre-Covid growth had continued (i.e., if there had been no pandemic and no war in Ukraine). The leading sectors for packaging machinery sales will be Cosmetics and Chemicals. The most dynamic types of machinery, on the other hand, will be the secondary and end-of-line sectors, particularly Handlers and Cartoning machines.