Second quarter plastics machinery shipments up 5.9 percent

North American shipments of plastics machinery were up 5.9 percent in the second quarter of 2018 compared with the second quarter of 2017, according to statistics reported by the Plastics Industry Association’s Committee on Equipment Statistics. The data marks the fifth consecutive quarterly year-over-year increase in plastics shipments.

Shipments of injection molding and extrusion machines totaled $335.2 million in the second quarter of 2018, companies reported. The total figure in the previous quarter was $329.8 million, according to PLASTICS.

“Plastics machinery shipments seemed to have hit a speed bump in the second quarter, but there’s no indication that shipments for the remainder of the year are trending down,” says Perc Pineda, the association’s chief economist. “U.S. economic fundamentals remain strong. As the economy fast approaches—if it hasn’t already attained—full capacity, businesses will have to cope with tighter resources, particularly labor, and output increases will not be as robust as in previous periods.”

In the association’s second quarter survey, respondents who reported that their customers were having difficulty obtaining financing for new equipment increased 11.4 percent from the first quarter. However, the remaining majority of respondents reported no customer financing difficulty in the second quarter, which suggests financing rates were not cost prohibitive and financing for new plastics equipment remains largely accessible, the association adds.

Other second quarter increases the association reported include:

• Injection molding machines were up 4.5 percent in the second quarter compared to last year.
• Single-screw extruders increased 23.1 percent.
• Twin-screw extruders, including co-rotating and counter-rotating machines, increased 80 percent.