Between 1996 and 2001, plastic beverage packaging is expected to grow at a 6.1% annual clip.
In terms of sheer volume, however, metal cans will remain a mainstay of beverage packaging due to metal's entrenched usage in beer and soft drink markets. For example, in 1996, more beverages were packed in metal than glass, plastic and paper combined, according to figures cited by the study. Metal will continue to dominate into the next century, though its growth-predicted to be only 0.2% annually from '96 to '01-will be flat, ceding share to plastic containers for soft drinks and glass for microbrewed and premium beers.
Glass and paper are expected to grow at a moderate pace during the same time period, with annual growth rates of 2.6% and 2.5% respectively.
