Global sales of plastics and rubber machinery are forecast to increase by an average of 3 percent per year in the period from 2014 to 2016, according to Germany's VDMA Plastics and Rubber Machinery Association.
The forecast comes in a trend report commissioned for the first time by VDMA which also indicates European Union-based machinery producers are expected to see sales fall by 2 percent in 2014, with a return to growth of 2 percent predicted for 2015.
VDMA provides regular market updates on German-based machinery makers and in October, it said their sales were likely to show a 1 percent decline in the current year. For 2015 German manufacturers are expecting growth of 4 percent.
VDMA did not provide a detailed breakdown in the new global report, but said: “The outlook for 2015 is for a positive trend in sales to China and the US and a further recovery of European markets.”
It noted the European manufacturing countries and China account for almost three quarters of global plastics and rubber machinery production. The main markets are China and the United States, and if the EU market is included, these markets accounted for a combined 47 percent of machinery exports worldwide.
VDMA (Verband Deutscher Maschinen- und Anlagenbau e.V.) is a German engineering association, which represents plastics and rubber machinery manufacturers, among others.
