The UK remains the largest market for drinks cans in Europe, new statistics from the trade body Beverage Can Makers Europe have revealed.
Total shipments of empty cans in 2009 stood at 8,778 million, up 250 million or 2.9% on 2008.
The carbonated soft drinks (CSD) sector performed particularly well with shipments of 4,315 million cans, an increase of 471 million cans or 12.3%.
In the rest of Europe, the market remained stable. Total can shipments reached 51.5 billion, a decrease of 2.4% compared to 2008. The trade body attributed the drop to the ‘unexpected’ decrease of one billion cans (17.5%) in the CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States) due to the impact of reduced disposable income in the region.
Western Europe was steady with a 0.3% decrease on 2008, while the Eastern European market experienced a 9.3% drop, or a 2.2% decrease excluding CIS figures.
The UK market was followed closely by Iberia, Benelux and the CIS. The UK and Iberia make up 30% of the European can market while the four regions combined represent a 50% share.
