From raw material directly to finished part, injection molding is one of the most important processes in the plastics industry.

Ceresana, one of the world's leading market research institutes, releases its latest market study “Plastic Injection – Europe”. The report shows that nearly 12.9 million tonnes of plastics were processed in Europe using this method last year.

"3D printing may be faster and does not require expensive molds," says Oliver Kutsch, Ceresana's managing director. "But injection molding is still unbeatable when it comes to cost-effectively producing plastic products of virtually any size or shape in huge quantities."

Polypropylene for injection molding most widely used

Melting a plastic granulate and injecting it into a hollow mold under high pressure is best done with thermoplastics and thermoplastic elastomers. However, more and more bioplastics are being used in this process.

Ceresana expects demand for products made from polypropylene to grow by an average of 1.5% per year over the next ten years. 

The most important type of plastic for injection molding is polypropylene (PP): Ceresana expects demand for products made from polypropylene to grow by an average of 1.5% per year over the next ten years. Polyethylene-HDPE follows in second place with a market share of around 17%.

The current study also analyzes the market for polyethylene-LDPE and LLDPE, polyamide (PA), acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), polystyrene (PS), polycarbonate (PC) and other types of plastic.

There are major differences in the various areas of application: In the packaging sector, for example, polypropylene accounts for around 71% of demand, while it only accounts for 16% in the construction sector.

Mass produced products for all areas of life

Dashboards and children's toys, medical syringes and electric switches, toothbrushes and glass-fiber-reinforced aircraft parts: injection-molded plastic products are part of our everyday lives.

The report stated that the most important sales market, with a volume of around 4.5 million tonnes, is the packaging industry, which uses them primarily to protect food products: Containers, cans, trays, boxes and closures of all kinds.

Inscriptions and labels can be integrated directly into ice cream cups or other plastic parts using in-mold labeling (IML). Printed films are inserted into the injection mold and then fuse seamlessly with the injected liquid plastic. Keyboards for cell phones and computers are also produced in this way.

However, the second largest application area for plastic injection molding is products for the automotive industry. Ceresana expects Europe-wide demand in this sector to increase by 2.1% per year until 2031.