Supported by retailing trends, such as the popularity of club stores and other mass-market retailers to use shrink wrap for collating multipack items and palletizing stretch wrap for product warehousing, US demand for both shrink and stretch films will grow to $4.7 billion in 2011.

That estimate, from a new report by Cleveland-based market researcher The Freedonia Group (www.freedoniagroup.com), reflects a 4.7 percent annual growth rate and a total of 3.2 billion pounds of resin four years hence to manufacture all that material. Product packaging will remain the leading market for stretch and shrink film, accounting for 56 percent of the total consumption in 2011. Advances will reflect continued requirements for product packaging, as well as the bundling and protection of goods during shipping and storage.

Stretch film demand is expected to reach $2.7 billion in 2011, the report says, stimulated by increased consumer-goods manufacturing and resin and processing improvements that will heighten cost competitiveness. A weaker US dollar versus other currencies is also stimulating exports by making US goods more price-competitive in international markets.

Shrink film demand will expand to nearly $2 billion in 2011, Freedonia says. Advances will reflect the continued popularity of consumer-product bulk purchasing and shrink film's rising use in collating multipacks of everything from facial tissues to toothpaste. Shrink film is said to provide a better seal and moisture barrier than stretch film and is frequently used in tandem with corrugated trays as a case overwrap, which allows greater product visibility as well as cost savings over corrugated cases.