The global end-of-line (EoL) & warehouse packaging automation market is currently experiencing a growth phase, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7.9% forecast between 2024 and 2029 according to Interact Analysis. The latest report from the market intelligence specialist – EoL & Warehouse Packaging Automation – predicts the market value will increase from $5.1 billion in 2024 to $7.5 billion in 2029, with the Americas region and warehouse packaging automation anticipated to be significant drivers of growth.
Companies in the Americas and Europe are increasing investment in warehouse packaging automation to combat rising labor costs. Both regions are also seeing growth in end-of-line packaging systems for the manufacturing industry as high wage bills and regulatory pressures continue. Meanwhile, most of the growth in the APAC region stems from a general expansion of the manufacturing industry, rather than rising labor costs.
Strong growth in automated packaging revenue is forecast in each of the tri-regions out to 2029
Manufacturing vs. warehousing in automated packaging
According to Interact Analysis, the end-of-line manufacturing packaging automation sector accounted for 61% of revenues within the EoL & warehouse packaging sector in 2024 and this figure is expected to drop by one percentage point by the end of 2029 to 60%, despite warehouse packaging forecast to grow at a faster rate. End-of-line manufacturing applications (like case packers, case sealers, and case erectors) have a strong presence, with combined revenues of over $2.1 billion in 2024.
The rise in warehouse automation comes primarily from rapidly growing investment in right-fit boxers, bagging machines; and robotic palletizing. E-commerce demands and legislation that penalizes retailers for material wastage are significant driving forces. Although right-fit boxers and baggers have the highest growth rate, the market size is still relatively small compared with more established solutions.
Vanessa Lopez, Research Analyst for Interact Analysis, explains: “Amazon has supercharged the expectation for automatic right-fit boxers across our forecast period. The company has announced the deployment of right-fit boxers across all its European facilities.
“Packaging automation is more mature within manufacturing environments. New machinery deployments are usually seen in newly-built facilities or where an increase in throughput is needed. However, in the warehousing sector, many packaging processes are still carried out manually, so there is greater opportunity for machine vendors here. That is why we expect higher growth in sales for warehousing applications during the forecast period.”
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