Contact: Bonnie Limbach
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SPI COMMITTEE ON EQUIPMENT STATISTICS RELEASES SECOND ANNUAL REPORT ON PLASTICS MACHINERY

WASHINGTON (May 6, 2002) - Much of the U.S. plastics equipment industry reported shipment and new order declines in the range of 40 to 60 percent in 2001, according to a new report from The Society of the Plastics Industry, Inc. (SPI). Indeed, by some measurements, the equipment segment suffered the most serious declines within the plastics industry.

The report is a product of the association's Committee on Equipment Statistics (CES), which collects monthly order and shipment data from manufacturers of plastic injection molding, extrusion, blow molding, auxiliary and component equipment manufacturers. The monthly data, compiled by a confidential third-party fiduciary, is aggregated and disseminated to participating companies, making the SPI program the only provider of timely and reliable plastics equipment statistics in the country.

The CES Full Year 2001 Report puts the data collected in context with the plastics industry in general and all major economic indicators. Detailed information includes new orders and shipments by quarter and growth rates for specific equipment sectors. The Report also discusses plastics equipment trends and provides forecasts of industry growth.

Among information in the new publication:

• Shipments: CES participants - manufacturers or importers of plastics machinery and equipment in the United States (excluding components and extrusion equipment) - shipped a total of $1.045 billion of product in 2001. This represents a 40.4-percent decrease from $1.752 billion in 2000.
• New Orders: The industry entered 2001 with quarterly new orders (excluding components and extrusion equipment) approaching $312.5 million, down 22.8 percent from $404.6 million in the fourth quarter of 2000.
• Backlog: In the first quarter of 2001, new orders outpaced shipments by 1.2 percent, adding slightly to the industry backlog. By the fourth quarter of 2001, the backlog had increased to 24.6 percent, perhaps an indication that the industry had reacted to the decrease in demand and cut production sharply.
• By segment: Injection molding reported a 44.2-percent decline in unit shipments and a 43.9-percent decline in dollars. Blow molding shipments were up 4.3 percent in units and down 28.1 percent in dollars. Extrusion shipments were down 45.3 percent in units shipped, and Auxiliary shipments declined 33.1 percent in dollars.

Information about the CES Annual and Quarterly Reports can be found at www.plasticsdatasource.org.

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 1,500 members represent the entire plastics industry supply chain, including processors, machinery and equipment manufacturers and raw material suppliers. For more information, visit SPI on the Web at www.plasticsindustry.org.

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