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U.S. PLASTICS INDUSTRY OUTPACES OTHER AMERICAN MANUFACTURING AND INCREASES ROLE IN INTERNATIONAL TRADE
Newly Released 2006 Data Also Show Continued Growth in Competition from China

DÜSSELDORF (October 24, 2007) – The U.S. plastics industry is stronger than ever and still growing in sales after years of globalization and outsourcing to lower-cost countries, according to William R. Carteaux, president and CEO of The Society of the Plastics Industry, Inc. (SPI), the plastics industry trade association.

Speaking at a press conference sponsored by Messe Düsseldorf on behalf of 125 U.S. companies exhibiting at K 2007, Carteaux cited 2006 statistics newly released by SPI as evidence that the U.S. plastics industry not only out-performs overall U.S. manufacturing but also is a strong force in international markets.

“While our industry has fewer companies and employees than in 2000, the nearly 19,000 plastics facilities operating in the U.S. today are more competitive than ever, with more sophisticated technology, better-trained workforces, and greater focus on capturing new international business,” said Carteaux. “This explains the continued strong growth in plastics shipments by the U.S. to both domestic and export markets, and the industry’s substantial trade surplus.”

The trade surplus persists even as imports of resins, machinery, tooling, and processed goods continued to grow, Carteaux noted, citing the particularly rapid increase in imports of plastic components and finished products from China. “While potential markets in China and India are vast, the actual consumption of plastics-related goods in the United States makes it currently the largest single national plastics market on earth,” he said. “What’s exciting is that U.S. plastics companies have grown more competitive not only in this enormous domestic market but in the international arena as well. Witness the 125 U.S. companies that have come to K 2007 to grow their business globally.”

The 2006 data released by SPI give evidence of these roles for U.S. plastics:

• 3rd-Largest U.S. Manufacturing Industry: the U.S. plastics industry shipped $379-billion worth of goods (up from $341-billion in 2005); employed 1.1 million workers at 18,585 facilities throughout the country; and invested $11.3-billion in new capital equipment.
  
  
• One of the Fastest-Growing U.S. Manufacturing Sectors: Between 1980 and 2006, U.S. plastics grew annually at rates of 1.1% in employment (versus -1.1% for all manufacturing), 3.4% in real shipments (versus 1.0%), 3.2% in real value added (versus 1.4%), and 2.3% in productivity (versus 2.0%).
  
  
• Largest Single National Market for Plastics: Annual apparent consumption (U.S. shipments plus imports and minus exports) totaled about $275-billion in 2006, 7.6% greater than in 2005 and more than double the total in 1990. A little over $200-million of the 2006 total was accounted for by plastic components and finished products, the balance being resins, machinery, and molds.
  
  
• Key Factor in World Plastics Trade: U.S. annual plastics exports increased by 12.3 % in 2006, and in the first seven months of 2007 grew 11.7% over the same period in 2006. Imports increased 7.5% in 2006 and decreased 2.3% in the first seven months of 2007. Canada and Mexico are the country’s largest plastics trading partners and are markets for nearly half of U.S. exports. China is the third-largest trading partner and the second-largest source of plastics imports by the U.S., after Canada. In 2006, U.S. plastics exports were valued at $43.4-billion; imports totaled $37.6-billion.
  
  
• Positive Contributor to U.S. Trade Balance: The U.S. plastics industry’s trade surplus was $5.8-billion in 2006, well up from $3.7-billion in 2005. In the first seven months of 2007, the surplus, at $5.9-billion, already exceeded whole-year 2006.

Since 2000, the U.S. plastics trade balance has stayed the same or markedly increased for resins, molds, and machinery. The only sharply negative trend has been in plastic components and finished goods—a trend described by Carteaux as “the China factor” because of the sharp growth in imports of plastic products from that country.

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Founded in 1937, THE SOCIETY OF THE PLASTICS INDUSTRY, INC., (SPI) is the trade association representing the third-largest manufacturing industry 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 $379-billion in annual shipments. Visit SPI on the Web at www.plasticsindustry.org.

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