South America Packaging Automation Market Size & Share Analysis - Growth Trends and Forecast (2026 - 2031)

South America Packaging Automation Market Trends and Insights

E-Commerce Fulfilment Throughput Requirements

MercadoLibre’s BRL 23 billion (USD 4.6 billion) expansion, which aims to double the number of Brazilian distribution centers to 21 by 2025, illustrates how online retail is redefining capacity planning. Argentina mirrored the surge, with online sales climbing 248% year-over-year in the first half of 2024, prompting Andreani to install sorters that now handle 26,000 packages per hour. Reverse-logistics inflows, accounting for 15%-20% of urban inbound volume, force integrators to design bidirectional conveyors and automated inspection islands. Colombia’s food warehouses anticipate a 28% annual growth in the adoption of automated systems through 2028, accompanied by a corresponding increase in the handling of perishable goods. These pressures favor palletizing and case-packing modules that can switch rapidly among thousands of SKUs, as demonstrated by Duravant's localization of conveyor engineering through the 2025 BVSP acquisition.

AI-Enabled Predictive-Maintenance Value Capture

Packaging lines are transitioning from break-fix maintenance toward data-driven uptime strategies. PMMI’s 2024 operational-excellence study documented the cumulative value lift from machine vision, digital twins, and anomaly detection that accumulates over successive runs.^{[1]PMMI, “2024 Operational Excellence in Packaging Report,” pmmi.org} Rockwell Automation’s Plex MES, released for South American SMEs in 2024, embeds real-time monitoring and FSMA-compatible traceability, shrinking service dispatch needs in remote areas. Schneider Electric’s EcoStruxure rollout at its Blumenau plant reduced the mean time to repair by around 30%, validating predictive analytics at scale. OEMs are therefore pivoting from one-off equipment sales to subscription-based service models; 75% of end-users now rank spare-parts availability above initial price, lifting barriers for new entrants without regional warehouses.

Food-Safety Traceability Mandates

ANVISA’s RDC 843/2024 introduced digital package inserts and serialization pilots for pharmaceutical lines, while tightening the notification and registration paths for food-contact materials. The European Union Deforestation Regulation, effective since 2024, requires geolocation data for exports such as soy and beef, prompting processors to retrofit QR-code printers and implement blockchain databases. By 2023, 35% of Colombian food companies had adopted blockchain traceability, with adoption expected to exceed 50% by 2026. Scanware’s May 2025 installation at Libbs Farmacêutica demonstrates the complexity of case- and pallet-level data aggregation. Retrofit costs range from USD 50,000 for basic vision systems to USD 500,000 for integrated track-and-trace modules, favoring large processors that can amortize upgrades across multiple site footprints.

Near-Shoring of Consumer-Goods Manufacturing to Brazil

Foreign direct investment is pivoting toward Brazil’s industrial corridor. Novo Nordisk committed USD 243 million to expand its pharmaceutical capacity in 2024, and Honda invested USD 807 million in automotive expansion, both citing proximity to the Mercosur market and Brazil’s 85% renewable electricity matrix. The BRL 300 billion (USD 54 billion) “Made in Brazil” program offers subsidized BNDES loans and tax relief for equipment with over 50% local content, encouraging packaging machinery assemblers to localize structural steel and controls while importing servo drives. The EU-Mercosur trade agreement will phase out up to 20% of machinery duties over a decade, further tilting the cost calculus in favor of regional production. Yet port dwell times of 5-7 days and complex customs procedures temper near-shoring gains, underlining the need for automation players to factor logistical bottlenecks into ROI models.

High Upfront CAPEX for SMEs

Collateral demands often exceed 150% of asset value, hindering access to automation loans, as detailed in the 2024 OECD SME Policy Index. Brazil’s FIESP survey indicated that machinery investment sentiment was 36.1 in the fourth quarter of 2024, reflecting the deterrent effect of the 11.25% Selic rate on capital goods imports. Although BNDES offers ESG-linked credit, the application process, which requires audited financial and environmental studies, excludes many firms with fewer than 100 employees. Consequently, SMEs stretch their manual labor longer, widening productivity gaps compared to automated multinationals.

Shortage of Automation-Skilled Technicians

FIESP’s December 2024 poll revealed 54.5% of São Paulo executives could not fill automation roles. OECD data show that 40% of regional manufacturers lack cross-disciplinary talent that combines mechanical, electrical, and software skills. While augmented-reality work instructions reduce error rates, broadband coverage outside major metropolitan areas remains inconsistent, limiting widespread deployment. Rockwell Automation’s ABDI MetaIndústria labs trained more than 100 companies in 2024, but the pipeline still trails demand.

Segment Analysis

By Product Type: palletizing Systems Capture Volume and Speed Gains

Palletizing systems generated 27.49% of 2025 revenue in the South America packaging automation market, and this share is forecast to widen as the segment records an 8.43% CAGR to 2031. Mixed-SKU distribution centers that handle thousands of stock-keeping units daily tend to gravitate toward robotic palletizers with multi-gripper heads and automated pattern-generation software, thereby minimizing manual intervention. MercadoLibre’s expansion to 21 Brazilian facilities created a multiplier effect for high-payload robots and autonomous mobile pallet movers. Filling, labeling, and wrapping lines follow in importance, catering to beverage, dairy, and snack segments that value aseptic integrity and film economy. 

The rapid adoption of collaborative palletizing cells aligns with labor-scarce pressures and frequent batch changeovers typical in South American plants. ABB’s Flexley Mover P603 robots and Agilox’s autonomous forklifts exemplify decentralized layouts that remove conveyor interlocks. SACMI’s 90 compression-molding units installed in Brazil underscore the trend of integrating closure applications. Combined, these shifts reinforce the position of palletizing within the South America packaging automation market share hierarchy.

Note: Segment shares of all individual segments available upon report purchase

By Automation Level: Fully Automatic Lines Anchor Investment Plans

Fully automatic configurations accounted for 63.31% of 2025 revenue and are projected to post an 8.32% CAGR through 2031, reflecting the need to sidestep wage escalation and compress order-cycle times. Andreani’s 26,000-package-per-hour sorter installation in December 2024 illustrates how thresholds accelerate full automation. While semi-automatic systems persist in cosmetics and specialty food facilities, the South America packaging automation market size premium increasingly gravitates toward lights-out lines with integrated PLCs, vision cameras, and servo positioning. 

Remote diagnostics embedded in Schneider Electric’s EcoStruxure and Siemens digital-twin commissioning protocols reduce on-site service calls, a critical advantage amid technician shortages. Argentina’s RIGI duty waivers enhance capital savings on imported servos and vision modules, further favoring the adoption of fully automatic systems. All told, full automation remains both the largest and fastest-growing layer of the South America packaging automation market.

By End-user Industry: Food Remains Core as E-Commerce Accelerates

Food processors delivered 34.19% of 2025 demand and continue to anchor the South America packaging automation market, benefiting from Brazil’s world-leading positions in soy, sugar, and poultry exports. Victam Latin America 2025 highlighted AI-driven feed-mill automation and EUDR-aligned traceability, exemplifying the sector’s automation bias. Pharmaceuticals and cosmetics follow, driven by RDC 843/2024 serialization rules that compel blister and bottle traceability.

E-commerce and logistics applications, however, are set to expand to a 7.89% CAGR, making them the fastest-growing demand pool within the South America packaging automation industry. Colombia’s forecast of 28% annual growth for automated food warehouses validates spillover effects into perishables logistics. As mixed-SKU volumes proliferate, OEMs design modular platforms that reuse conveyors, sorters, and palletisers across end-user verticals, reinforcing economies of scale and stabilizing the broader South America packaging automation market size outlook.

Note: Segment shares of all individual segments available upon report purchase

Geography Analysis

Brazil generated 41.81% of 2025 regional revenue, and its growth pace aligns with the 6.11% regional CAGR as manufacturing output approaches USD 300 billion. The BRL 300 billion “Made in Brazil” program subsidizes equipment embedding over 50% local content, helping assemblers blunt currency volatility. MercadoLibre’s USD 4.6 billion logistics build-out, Novo Nordisk’s USD 243 million pharmaceutical expansion, and Honda’s USD 807 million automotive investment underscore sustained foreign direct-investment inflows. Yet FIESP’s sentiment index, at 36.1, signals lingering caution as imported components become costlier in an 11.25% Selic-rate environment. Rockwell Automation’s MetaIndústria labs aim to bridge the skills gap that half of executives identify as a hiring challenge. 

Argentina is projected to record a 7.65% CAGR, the fastest in the region, buoyed by the RIGI regime, which waives customs duties for projects exceeding USD 200 million and stabilizes hard-currency access. ARLOG’s 2024 survey found that 82% of logistics operators plan to set automation budgets for 2025, and Andreani’s high-speed sorters reflect concrete follow-through.^{[2]Asociación Argentina de Logística Empresaria, “Encuesta de Inversiones en Logística 2025,” arlog.org} AdePIA’s 2024 study on food machinery revealed that multinational retailers now require ISO 22000 and FSSC 22000 certifications, thereby accelerating upgrades in traceability along the value chain. 

Colombia, Chile, and the rest of South America account for the residual share, yet they also present pockets of rapid adoption. Colombia’s 28% growth forecast for automated food warehouses, combined with Chile’s extended producer responsibility law, is pushing local packagers toward flexible wrapping lines. Sistemo’s 2025 expansion beyond Chile into Brazil validates spillover opportunities for mid-tier system integrators. Ratification of the EU-Mercosur agreement promises tariff relief across the bloc, but port inefficiencies and customs complexity remain structural challenges.