European tubes production declined slightly, by 0.4%, last year to 11.5 bn tubes, and the market this year remains uncertain, said the European Tube Manufacturers Association (etma, Düsseldorf / Germany; www.etma-online.org). The shares of tube types remained relatively unchanged in 2020, with the share of plastic tubes slightly weaker at 27% and the share of laminate tubes slightly up at 38%, aluminium tubes accounted for 35%.

Fabio Gussoni, president of the association, said the European market for tubes was robust in 2020, thanks to lively demand in the first quarter. Member companies demonstrated enormous flexibility during the extraordinary crisis situation, he said. “Despite all the odds, the industry’s supply chains have held up. The production processes thus remained largely free of disruptions, so that the deliveries to customers could be made on schedule as usual,” he added.

Etma said its members are cautiously optimistic about a sustained recovery in demand from autumn 2021, supported by optimised vaccination campaigns across Europe and the successful control of new virus mutations. However, customers’ ever-shorter planning horizons represent an additional challenge.

“At the moment, the industry is still observing a noticeable reluctance of customers due to the still very tense and uncertain pandemic situation,” etma said. “Inventories are being reduced and new projects are approached rather hesitantly.” Demand in 2021 will depend largely on whether summer tourism can take place, as cosmetics, skin and sun-care products should benefit from it.

For all tube types, deliveries to the cosmetics sector, the largest market for tubes, fell by about 3%. Etma general secretary Gregor Spengler noted that the pandemic caused high-priced cosmetics products to suffer, because numerous sales channels and revenue generators for the industry – such as shops in city centres and at airports, cosmetic studios, and hairdressing and beauty salons – across Europe were closed for a long time. “Unfortunately, this situation continued at the beginning of 2021,” he added.

Sales of dental-care products fell by about 1%, but sales to the crisis-proof pharmaceutical sector, the second-most important sales market for tubes, rose by 3%, while tubes in the food sector rose by 12%. The food sector benefited from the fact that more meals were prepared and consumed at home during lockdowns, aided by the closings of restaurants and pubs. Tubes were also successful in the household and do-it-yourself sector, with an increase of 14%.