It is classified into different grades according to its density and the branching of its polymer chains: LDPE, LLDPE, and HDPE. Ceresana now publishes its third comprehensive analysis of the world market for low-density polyethylene (LDPE). This oldest polyethylene grade, which has been produced since 1939, is soft, tough, and flexible. LDPE is therefore used for numerous consumer goods, such as screw caps and lids.

Asia consumes the most

The most popular applications today are films that are used to produce carrier bags, pouches, packaging materials, and cover films for agriculture, among others. This current market study expects global LDPE revenues to grow by an average of 3.2% per year until 2026. One of the most dynamic growth markets is the market for construction products. With a share of around 41%, the region Asia-Pacific is by far the largest consumer of LDPE.

Plastic films are the main application

The most important sales market for LDPE in 2018 was the application area “Packaging Films” with demand of 5.74 million tonnes. Overall, the packaging market accounts for 58% of demand: packaging films, bags and sacks, and rigid packaging. In terms of demand volumes, the application area “Construction” will presumably achieve the highest percentage increase until 2026 with average growth of 2.7% per year.

Processing is dominated by extrusion

The most important method for processing LDPE is extrusion. In 2018, more than 13 million tonnes of LDPE were processed worldwide by film extrusion alone. The second place takes the extrusion of pipes, profiles, and cables – analysts at Ceresana expect that global processing in this area will achieve the highest percentage increase during the next eight years with growth of 2.5% per year.

The study in brief:

Chapter 1 offers a comprehensive overview and analysis of the global market for low-density polyethylene (LDPE), including forecasts until 2026: data on the development of demand, revenues, and production is presented for each region.
Furthermore, the following application areas of LDPE are examined in detail: packaging films, bags / sacks, other films, rigid packaging, construction, and other applications.
Chapter 2 examines 26 important sales markets separately. This includes, for example, Germany, USA, Japan, Poland, Russia, Saudi-Arabia, and South Africa. Demand, revenues, trade, and production are examined in detail for each country, split by individual application areas and processing technologies (film extrusion, other extrusion, injection molding, and other technologies).
Chapter 3 provides useful company profiles of the most important manufacturers of LDPE, clearly arranged according to contact information, revenues, profits, product range, production sites, capacities, and profile summary. Comprehensive profiles of 64 manufacturers are provided.  


About Ceresana
As one of the world’s leading market research companies, Ceresana is specialized in the plastics, chemicals, packaging, and industrial goods sectors. Since 2002, companies have benefited from high-quality industry analyses and forecasts. More than 180 market reports provide over 10,000 customers with the knowledge base for their sustainable success.