A positive trend for the US plastics industry

A recent survey by SPI (Society of the Plastics Industry) shows that the US plastic materials industry has recorded uninterrupted growth since 2008-2009, having shown its first signs of recovery in the immediate wake of the recession period. Whereas national employment figures had to wait until 2013 to start rising again, this industrial sector (compared with other manufacturing sectors) has been a driving force in the recovery; these positive results can also be attributed to the sector’s strong innovative character and to the broadening of its markets, as well as to the increasingly frequent recourse to natural gas which allows considerable savings on energy expenditure and procurement. In 2012 the US plastic materials industry employed 892 thousand people in almost 16 thousand plants; since 1980, it has recorded an annual growth rate of 0.1%, which is a better result than that recorded by the manufacturing sector in general. The value of US exports was over 373 billion dollars in 2012 and consumption of plastic goods, increasing at an annual rate of 5.6%, rose from 237.6 billion dollars in 2011 to 251 billion in 2012. Mexico, Canada and China are the three main destination markets of US exports. Investments in equipment and machinery instead reached the 9.6 billion dollar mark. This positive trend is underpinned by the good performance of the construction industry (which is among the main users of plastic materials for coverings, insulation panels, fixtures etc.), and which is expected to be further boosted in 2014 by the opening of over 800 thousand residential construction sites. Finally, the automotive sector is also doing well: this year, for the first time since 2007, it will record sales of more than 16 million light vehicles, thanks to investments in training and technology.