Contact: Jennifer Dills
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

New Study Shows Substantial Growth in Arkansas Plastics Industry

Washington (August 3, 2000) — The plastics industry is a significant and growing contributor of jobs in the state of Arkansas, and plastics shipments in the state have more than doubled in the last five years, according to a new economic study by The Society of the Plastics Industry, Inc. (SPI).

The SPI Economic Report shows the 161 plastics industry facilities in Arkansas employed 19,600 workers last year, making Arkansas the 23rd-largest state in the nation in terms of plastics industry employment. Arkansas is also the sixth-fastest-growing state for plastics employment, with an increase of 38 percent between 1994 and 1999. The state also has the ninth-highest proportion of plastics industry employment as compared to other manufacturing industries.

The Arkansas plastics industry generated $3.1 billion in shipments in 1999, an impressive 54-percent increase between 1994 and 1999.

Nationally, the plastics industry is growing faster than all other manufacturing and is creating more jobs, while continuing to improve in productivity, according to the study. The plastics industry provided 1,525,600 U.S. jobs in 1999 and contributed $304 billion in annual shipments.

Plastics employment has grown at an annual rate of 2.7 percent since 1972, according to the report, compared to -0.1 percent for all manufacturing. Since 1994, plastics industry employment has increased 4.4 percent per year; shipments have increased 6.2 percent annually.

The study, which was conducted for SPI by Probe Economics, Millwood, N.Y., provides economic data from all 50 states. It also includes data on productivity and international trends, showing the increasing importance of international trade to the plastics industry. According to the report, international trade is responsible for 15 percent of plastics industry jobs in the United States. The industry had an overall trade surplus of $5.2 billion in 1999.

The SPI Economic Report is available from SPI Literature Sales, (800) 541-0736 for $145 for SPI members; $215 for non-members. Refer to publication AB-147 when ordering. Summary information is also available on SPI's Web site at www.plasticsdatasource.org/impact.htm#statefacts. The data also will be available in the near future in a searchable, on-line database developed by SPI and Plastics News, a weekly industry newspaper. The database, at www.plasticsnews.com, will include additional features not incorporated in the printed report, such as county data.

Founded in 1937, The Society of the Plastics Industry, Inc. is the trade association representing one of the largest manufacturing industries in the United States. SPI's 1,700 members represent the entire plastics industry supply chain, including processors, machinery and equipment manufacturers and raw material suppliers.

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