The glass industry was among the sectors which suffered from the beginning of the financial downturn. Mainly depending on the construction, automotive and consumer goods markets, it was affected as early as Q4 2008, all segments included.
“The financial crisis has had a direct impact on the trust of consumers and we suffered from the general decrease of consumption,” Michael Delle Selve, communications and operations manager at the European Container Glass Federation (FEVE) told IM.
Although the glass industry has suffered as any other industrial sector from the financial crisis during 2009, the impact was less dramatic than for others with an average 10% decrease at a European scale.
“The industry is quite stable, although suffering from the aggressiveness of competing materials in some market segments such as wine, mineral water, fruit juices, and baby food,” Delle Selve added. Competition from China also remains a source of concern....