Analytical company VVS. Glass container production. Result of 2020

As we predicted last October, the miracle did not happen. Russian glass container manufacturers have failed to break their own record of eight years ago. But they were able to improve the result of 2019 by 5.2%. But at what cost ...

And so, at the end of 2020, 10,863.3 million glass bottles and 2,731.4 million cans were produced in Russia, which, respectively, is 1.7% and 21.9% more than a year earlier. In total, as mentioned above, production volumes increased by 5.2% compared to last year.

At the same time, in terms of weight, production volumes increased by 10.1%. Mainly due to the vodka and cognac bottle, which every year becomes more pretentious, exclusive, and therefore heavier. A beer bottle, on the contrary, reduced its weight and volume: almost all beer companies, except for local brands, switched to bottles with a capacity of 0.45 liters. The decrease in the volume of the bottle led to an increase in the demand for its quantity, which had a positive effect on the utilization of the capacities of the glass container factories.

Nevertheless, glass factories met 2021 with a record warehouse stock of 1,545.4 million bottles over the past three years, which is 63.8% more than at the end of 2019. The situation with the bank is even worse. As of the end of 2020, stocks amounted to 376.8 million pieces, which is 136.1% more than a year earlier.

Accordingly, the share of shipped products also decreased. If in 2018 and 2019 the shipment of glass bottles was respectively 94.5% and 95.3% of the production volume, then in 2020 it was only 87.3%. That is, compared to the previous year, the share of shipped glass bottles decreased by 8 percentage points.

The same picture is observed with the jar. If in 2018 and 2019 Russian enterprises shipped 92.4% and 92.8% of the produced glass jars, respectively, then in 2020 only 83.0%, which is 9.8 percentage points less than a year earlier.

Naturally, sooner or later the “invisible hand of the market” must balance the supply and demand of glass containers. And it looks like "the process has begun." This year, according to the results of the first quarter, bottle production decreased by 9.4%, and cans by 13.8% compared to the same period in 2020. At the same time, the share of shipped products increased to 92% and 92.5%, respectively. The emptying of the warehouses has not yet been observed. Inventories at the end of the 1st quarter of 2021 exceed the two-month production volume of the entire Russian glass container industry.

Source: Information and analytical company VVS

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