The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the European label industry is the key reference point for 2020.
We are fortunate to have an excellent and detailed snapshot in the Finat Radar report of the first period of the European lockdown in Q1 2020 – trends that will no doubt be reinforced as the continent enters its latest lockdown as this article was written in Q4.
The survey shows starkly that Q1 2020 converter sales growth plummeted from an average 4.7 percent at the end of 2019 (itself down from 2018 figures) to 3.6 percent.
At the same time label stock growth in Q2 2020 was at the highest point for both papers and films since Radar reports started tracking trends seven years ago. These numbers reflect the surges resulting from the coronavirus pandemic – both consumer stockpiling and label converters amassing materials in an attempt to avoid supply chain disruptions in surging and critical markets.