The packaging industry touches much of the modern economy, through widespread e-commerce packaging to bulk transport packaging to extremely niche packaging solutions. Packaging Dive kept tabs on the dollar values, percentages and other numbers and stats illustrating some of this year’s important storylines.
These were some of the notable industry figures that left their mark on 2024, across areas like policy and regulation, M&A, fiber-based packaging, plastics transformation targets, manufacturing and labor, and other sustainability efforts.
What industry themes and data points do you think will stand out in 2025? Let us know at [email protected].
Policy and regulation
The image by Ministry of Environment - Rwanda is licensed under CC BY-ND 2.0
By the numbers
1
The number of new state EPR for packaging laws passed this year. In May, Minnesota adopted the Packaging Waste and Cost Reduction Act, becoming the fifth U.S. state to pass an extended producer responsibility for packaging policy. Featuring a shared responsibility model, the Minnesota bill gained broad-based support compared with some previous state EPR laws. Producers will be on the hook to help fund recycling improvements starting in 2029.
35
The number of companies that Washington fined a collective $416,554 as it began enforcing its 2021 recycled content law this year. That’s out of 310 registered producers, 128 of which were required to meet minimum thresholds based on their volumes and revenue. The law is one of a few in the nation addressing recycled plastic use in beverage containers and trash bags.
2,420
The number of producers registered with Circular Action Alliance, as of a December update. The brand-founded nonprofit producer responsibility organization grew this year as the formally selected implementing PRO in some states, and it is preparing to further engage in other states in the years to come.
5.2
The label for the next Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee on Plastic Pollution meeting, INC 5.2. That extra meeting was formulated in December after the fifth in a series of meetings, INC-5 in South Korea, did not result in a “global plastics treaty,” as had been targeted by the end of 2024. This ‘Chair’s Text’ will “serve as the starting point for negotiations at a resumed session in 2025,” the United Nations Environment Program said.
M&A
Permission granted by WestRock
By the numbers
140+
The number of acquisitions or notable investments that Packaging Dive tracked this year by companies with businesses in the U.S. Notably, the amount of large, multibillion-dollar deals ticked up.
At least 4
The number of international, pure-play packaging acquisitions valued at more than $3 billion involving publicly traded U.S. manufacturers that were initiated or completed in 2024: WestRock and Smurfit Kappa; International Paper and DS Smith; Sonoco and Eviosys; and Amcor and Berry Global.
$32B
The combined revenue Smurfit Westrock projected it would have after Smurfit Kappa completed its acquisition of WestRock in July.
$5.6B
The value of Ball’s sale of its aerospace business to BAE Systems, allowing Ball to focus exclusively on packaging.
Fiber
Lisa Beeby via Getty Images
By the numbers
$70-75
The typical per ton price increases on linerboard that producers tried to implement in 2024. Most of the major fiber board producers attempted to raise prices at least twice, with varying degrees of market recognition.
71-76%
The most recent U.S. recycling rate for cardboard, according to the American Forest & Paper Association. The association used new methodologies this year to calculate fiber recycling rates, resulting in the cardboard figure appearing much lower than in the past. The previous year's cardboard recycling rate estimate was 93.6%.
40+
The number of North American mills that accept polycoated paper cups for recycling, as of June 2024, according to the Foodservice Packaging Institute. This represents a 33% increase in the number mills accepting polycoated cups compared with 2023.
2 billion
The square footage of annual production capacity Packaging Corporation of America expects from the new box plant it was building in 2024 in Phoenix. That's more than double the capacity of the existing corrugated products plant there, which will be replaced.
Manufacturing and labor
Permission granted by Tetra Pak
By the numbers
Nearly 6,000
The number of packaging-related jobs affected by manufacturing closures and layoffs this year, according to Packaging Dive’s tracking of state Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification notices, company disclosures and local news reports in the U.S. That’s down from the at least 9,000 that Packaging Dive followed in 2023.
8
The consecutive months of contraction in the manufacturing sector, as of November, according to the Institute of Supply Chain Management. Contraction occurred in 24 of the last 25 months, with March 2024 coming in as the only month of expansion since September 2022.
$425M
Georgia-Pacific's cost of a new Dixie manufacturing site in Jackson, Tennessee, which officially opened in October. This is the first greenfield plant the company has built since 1991, and was set to create at least 220 new jobs.
25 years
The quarter-century-in-operation milestone that Tetra Pak celebrated in 2024 at its North American training center in Denton, Texas. This year, the company expanded the facility to 9,400 square feet and added technologies to enhance virtual learning and hands-on skills building for both employees and customers.
Sustainability
Matt Cardy via Getty Images
By the numbers
100%
The percentage of plastic air pillows that Amazon eliminated from delivery packaging used at global fulfillment centers, as of October 2024. It replaced air pillows across North America with paper filler made from 100% recycled content. The e-commerce giant described this as its biggest reduction in plastic packaging in North America to date.
33%
The U.S. PET bottle collection rate most recently reported by the National Association for PET Container Resources.
43%
The U.S. recycling rate for aluminum beverage cans most recently reported by the Aluminum Association and the Can Manufacturers Institute. They said this was the lowest mark in decades, citing stagnation in the U.S. recycling system and policies governing it.
11%
The percentage of branded plastic sourced back to Coca-Cola that was found in a cross-continental litter survey documenting 1.9 million plastic items. Results of the survey were published this year and covered widely. Other top sources of branded plastic litter were found to be PepsiCo (5%), Nestlé (3%), Danone (3%) and Altria (2%).
Corporate goals
SolStock via Getty Images
By the numbers
3%
The reduction in virgin plastic use that the more than 1,000 business and government signatories to the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s Global Commitment have achieved since 2018, according to a progress report this year. Their goal is an 18% reduction by 2025.
2050
Graphic Packaging International’s target year for achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions, a goal announced this year. This goes hand in hand with the company’s sustainability strategy that includes near-term science-based targets.
2%
The share of PepsiCo’s packaging portfolio it does not expect will be recyclable, compostable, biodegradable or reusable (RCBR) by 2030. The food and beverage giant reported this year it’s aiming for 98% of its portfolio to be RCBR by 2030, an adjustment from its aim of 100% by 2025. The latest reported rate was 89% in 2023.
2030
The new target year for goals in the U.S. Plastics Pact’s Roadmap 2.0, released this year. The goals include reducing virgin plastic use by 30%, recycling 50% of plastic packaging and achieving an average of 30% postconsumer recycled or “responsibly sourced” biobased content in plastic packaging – all from a 2020 baseline. USPP, whose participants include packaging converters and major brand owners alike, previously was working toward achieving most of these goals in 2025.
