In this week's Plastics News, our top 100 North American injection molders ranking comes in bigger than ever.
Up 4.5 percent, that is, with combined sales of $32.7 billion for fiscal year 2023.
The data reflects higher prices more than larger volumes, as reported by our respondents. It amounts to $327 million in average sales per company vs. $313 million from the year before.
The results in our ranking follow the trend reported in our coverage of the expanding medical market and the packaging sector lifting off the gas in favor of product and material developments, supporting sustainability. Automotive sales were up 24 percent in Mexico and 12 percent in both the U.S. and Canada.
Prices for polyethylene, polypropylene and ABS resins were all down double digits, in percentage terms, in 2023. However, we didn't see the same level of decline in pass through costs to customers, which had traditionally been the case.
It's not surprising that injection molders are leading the pack in terms of adapting new technologies. Artificial intelligence follows 3D printing and Industry 4.0, as early adopters gravitate toward tools that improve manufacturing. What is surprising is that this is the first year I've seen a trend in more molders willing to submit their data for the ranking electronically.
A few years ago, we made the leap to allow companies to submit their figures online, and it's only now showing signs of life. Perhaps because the NPE trade show was held this year or because the industry is undergoing a generation transition in leadership — or maybe both.
Lifting the veil on pulling together these lists may help drive more respondents. It can take many hours of creative research to nail down specifics on a single company.
As an example, notably missing from this year's list is Tupperware Brands Corp., a well-known injection molder that has been facing financial troubles. Tupperware peaked in our ranking in 2003 with estimated North American injection molding sales of $276 million. That was good enough for No. 23 in our top 100.
This year we made numerous attempts to update the company's numbers, but we were unable to confirm that Tupperware's plant in Hemingway, S.C., was still molding housewares products. We had already made the decision to drop Tupperware from the 2024 ranking when we got confirmation on June 13 that the Hemingway plant is closing.
It takes hundreds of hours to pull together each ranking, not just for those appearing on our lists, but for those that drop off, too.