Plastics Machinery Shipments Mark Second Consecutive Quarterly Decline

Shipments of injection molding and extrusion equipment fell 15.4% in the second quarter of this year over the previous quarter, and dropped 36.2% year over year, according to new data from the Plastics Industry Association's Committee on Equipment Statistics (CES).

But the second consecutive quarter of decline in shipping of primary plastics machinery “is not due to a pullback in plastics demand,” asserted Perc Pineda, chief economist for PLASTICS. “Based on the monthly Plastics Demand Estimate, there has been growth in demand recently. There is no indication that the baseline demand for plastic products has deteriorated.”

In fact, 79.9% of respondents in the latest CES quarterly survey anticipate steady or improved market conditions over the next year. Inventories of finished plastic and rubber products remained steady year over year, totaling about $15 billion this June compared with $15.2 billion last year.

Chart courtesy of Plastics Industry Association.

The report estimated the total value of primary equipment shipments for the second quarter of this year at $224.8 million. In terms of shipment volumes:

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In terms of total US imports and exports of plastics machinery between the first and second quarters:

Current economic pressures are behind those declines, Pineda explained.

“While the rate of decline in the second quarter was significantly less than in the first quarter, the industry continues to deal with higher interest rates, and that’s weighing on capital expenditure plans."