Contact: Jennifer Dills
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Texas Leads Nation In Plastics Industry Shipments

Washington (August 2, 2000) — The Texas plastics industry generated $31.5 billion in shipments in 1999, placing the state first in the nation in terms of plastics shipments, according to a new study by The Society of the Plastics Industry, Inc. (SPI).

The SPI Economic Report shows Texas ranks fifth in plastics employment, with the industry providing 97,600 jobs last year, a 29-percent increase between 1994 and 1999. Plastics industry shipments in Texas also grew 29 percent in the same five-year period.

The state also ranked first in employment and shipments for three major industry sectors: plastics materials and resin (12,800 jobs and $14 billion in shipments); non-packaging film and sheet manufacturing (5,100 jobs and $1.5 billion in shipments) and plastic bag manufacturing (5,700 jobs and $1.2 billion in shipments).

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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