FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Tracy Cullen
(202) 974-5282
Email: tcullen@plasticsindustry.org

SPI RELEASES FOURTH QUARTER AND ANNUAL PLASTICS MACHINERY SHIPMENT STATISTICS

Total Value of Plastics Machinery Shipments in 2006 Drops Four Percent from 2005; Extrusion Machinery Shipment Value Up 21 Percent from 2005

WASHINGTON, D.C. (March 28, 2007)—U.S. manufacturers and importers of primary plastics machinery and equipment shipped $252 million worth of primary machinery (excluding components and auxiliary equipment) in the fourth quarter 2006, according to the latest equipment statistics released today by the Society of the Plastics Industry, Inc. (SPI) Committee on Equipment Statistics (CES). This is 12 percent lower than the $256 million shipped in the third quarter of 2006.

For all of 2006, shipments of primary plastics equipment totaled slightly more than $1 billion—a decrease of four percent when compared with the annual total for 2005. But economist Bill Wood, who provided the analysis for SPI's report, forecasts a leveling off period followed by growth in 2008. "A gradual downtrend may well persist through the first half of 2007, but spending for new equipment should begin to pick up in the second half of this year," said Wood. "The latest forecast calls for a flat year for shipments of plastics machinery in 2007 followed by a return to growth in 2008."

The quarterly machinery shipment statistics report serves as an important tool for examining and understanding the U.S. plastics machinery and equipment industry, as well as the economic trends that impact it. Using monthly data supplied by CES participating companies, the report was compiled by VERIS Consulting, LLC. The analysis of the aggregate data was completed by Mountaintop Economics & Research, Inc., a supplier of market analyses and forecasts for decision makers in the plastics industry.

Other data included in the report:

• Extrusion machinery shipments totaled $39.5 million in the fourth quarter of 2006, which is 10 percent stronger than the $35.8 million shipped in the third quarter. The dollar total for extrusion machinery shipments in all of 2006 was up 21 percent from 2005.
• The shipment dollar value of blow molding machinery in the fourth quarter of 2006 is $36.7 million—up 85 percent from the $19.8 million shipped during the third quarter. For the year, blow molding shipments totaled $75.1 million, down 6% when compared with 2005.
• A total of 4,290 units of components were shipped in the fourth quarter of 2006—a decrease of five percent when compared with the third quarter. (It is not possible to compare this figure to data from the previous year because the number of reporting companies changed from 2005 to 2006.)
• The total value of injection molding shipments in the fourth quarter of 2006 is $176 million—12 percent less than the $200.5 million shipped in the third quarter of 2006. For the entire year, the shipment dollars total for injection molding machinery decreased eight percent compared with 2005.

SPI's CES is the only provider of timely and reliable plastics equipment statistics in the country. The reports can be found online at SPI's Plastics Industry Store. The cost is free for members. Nonmembers can purchase the reports at a cost of $580 for the Annual Report (includes the fourth quarter report) or $250 for an individual quarterly report.

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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 members represent the entire plastics industry supply chain, including processors, machinery and equipment manufacturers and raw materials suppliers. The U.S. plastics industry employs 1.1 million workers and provides nearly $341 billion in annual shipments.

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