Skip to main content
Sister Publication Links
  • Sustainable Plastics
  • Rubber News
Subscribe
  • Sign Up Free
  • Login
  • Subscribe
  • News
    • Processor News
    • Suppliers
    • More News
    • Digital Edition
    • End Markets
    • Special Reports
    • Newsletters
    • Videos
    • Injection Molding
    • Blow Molding
    • Film & Sheet
    • Pipe/Profile/Tubing
    • Rotomolding
    • Thermoforming
    • Recycling
    • Machinery
    • Materials
    • Molds/Tooling
    • Product news
    • Design
    • K Show
    • Mergers & Acquisitions
    • Sustainability
    • Public Policy
    • Material Insights Videos
    • Numbers that Matter
    • Automotive
    • Packaging
    • Medical
    • Consumer Products
    • Construction
    • Processor of the Year
    • Best Places to Work
      • 2023 winners
    • Women Breaking the Mold
    • Rising Stars
    • Diversity
    • Most Interesting Social Media Accounts in Plastics
  • Opinion
    • The Plastics Blog
    • Kickstart
    • One Good Resin
    • Pellets and Politics
    • All Things Data
    • Viewpoint
    • From Pillar to Post
    • Perspective
    • Mailbag
    • Fake Plastic Trees
  • Shop Floor
    • Blending
    • Compounding
    • Drying
    • Injection Molding
    • Purging
    • Robotics
    • Size Reduction
    • Structural Foam
    • Tooling
    • Training
  • Events
    • K Show Livestream
    • Plastics News Events
    • Industry Events
    • Injection Molding & Design Expo
    • Livestreams/Webinars
    • Editorial Livestreams
    • Ask the Expert
    • Plastics News Events Library
    • Processor of the Year submissions
    • Plastics News Executive Forum
    • Injection Molding & Design Expo
    • Plastics News Caps & Closures
    • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum
    • Plastics in Automotive
    • Bioplastics Live
    • PN Live: Mergers and Acquisitions
    • Polymer Points Live
    • Numbers that Matter Live
    • Plastics in Politics Live
    • Sustainable Plastics Live
    • Plastics Caps & Closures Library
    • Plastics in Healthcare Library
    • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum Library
  • Rankings & Data
    • Injection Molders
    • Blow Molders
    • Film Sheet
    • Thermoformers
    • Pipe Profile Tubing
    • Rotomolders
    • Mold/Toolmakers
    • LSR Processors
    • Recyclers
    • Compounders - List
    • Association - List
    • Plastic Lumber - List
    • All
  • Directory
  • Resin Prices
    • Resin Prices Overview
    • Commodity Thermoplastics
    • High Temperature Thermoplastics
    • Engineering Thermoplastics
    • Recycled Plastics
    • Thermosets
  • Custom
    • Sponsored Content
    • LS Mtron Sponsored Content
    • Conair Sponsored Content
    • KraussMaffei Sponsored Content
    • ENGEL Sponsored Content
    • White Papers
    • Classifieds
    • Place an Ad
    • Sign up for Early Classified
MENU
Breadcrumb
  1. Home
  2. News
News
August 13, 2015 02:00 AM

New orders, production levels surge for processors

Bill Wood
  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Share
  • Email
  • More
    Reprints Print

    Our Plastics News Business Monitor Index is a gratifying 112.2 for the second quarter. This is a solid improvement from the 104.5 that was posted in the first quarter. Sizable gains were recorded in all of the components that comprise the total index, but the increases that stand out most to me are the accelerating growth in both new orders and production levels for processors.

    The new orders sub-index hit a robust 132.1 and the production sub-index was only a tad lower at 129.5. These values represent double-digit gains from the first quarter values of 119.5 for new orders and 117.5 for production. This is only the second time we have compiled the data and calculated these indices, but I will be very happy if we can sustain values for both overall new orders and overall production around the 130-range in perpetuity.

    One more thing that I find interesting is the strong level of optimism that prevails in our industry. There is a strong consensus amongst processors of all types that business conditions will improve in the coming months. The future expectations sub-index was 151.9 for the second quarter, which was a small increase of the strongly-optimistic reading from the first quarter. This sense of optimism is also reflected in the 126.8 reading for the sub-index for capital spending plans.

    The PN Business Monitor is a measure of the change in overall business activity for plastics processors and mold makers during the past three months. We introduced these indices earlier this year, and in my opinion they have proven both accurate and insightful. Because they are new to the industry, there has been some confusion about just what the index values actually mean and how they should be interpreted.

    Here are the basics — a value greater than 100 indicates that the business activity level increased when compared with the previous quarter. A value of exactly 100 would indicate that the business level was unchanged, while a value less than 100 would indicate that the activity level declined.

    Keep in mind that a value of 112.2 for the second quarter does not indicate that the volume of business levels, or output, or sales actually increased by 12.2 percent. What it does mean (without getting too technical) is that there was a significant increase in the number of processors who reported that business levels were up, and a sizable decline in those who reported that business levels declined. Our index measures the change in the underlying trend (up or down), but not the change in the actual amount of business that transpired.

    So the Plastics News Business Monitor Index is designed to be an indicator of overall business levels that is easy to compile and easy to understand. We want the questionnaire to be painless and quick so that we can garner a high number of responses. So far these efforts have been a smashing success. And my analysis of this data will continue to improve as we compile more history.

    One of the biggest advantages of our data is that we can break the responses out by both type of process (injection molding, blow molding, film and sheet extrusion, etc.), and also by end-market served (automotive, medical, packaging, etc.).

    I will take a look some of the type-of-process data below, and I will save the analysis of the various end markets for future columns.

    Index values by process

    The injection molding index for the second quarter was 110, a modest increase from the first quarter value of 107.8. The injection molding sector covers a wide range of end markets, and it is a good indicator of the overall consumer sector in the U.S.

    A value of 110 was a respectable performance during the second quarter when the overall economy grew by just a little more than 2 percent and the macro-indicators for the total U.S. manufacturing sector were trending flat.

    It should not come as too much of a surprise that the largest number of responses for our quarterly survey comes from injection molders, so I like to see a solid performance from these companies, and that is what we got.

    The indices that enjoyed the largest gains by far were those for extruders of film and sheet and also pipe, profiles and tubing. The film and sheet index jumped from 101.2 in the first quarter to a salubrious 125.5 in the second quarter. Big gains were reported for new orders, production and prices received.

    The change in the index for pipe, profile and tubing was just as dramatic. The second quarter value for this index was 121.6, which was a sharp reversal of the 96 posted in the first quarter. The components for new orders, production, backlogs and employees all surged in the latest survey. The jump in this particular index corroborates the recent trends of strong gains in total construction spending so far in 2015. Total construction is up 8 percent for the year-to-date, and it spiked up 12 percent in the month of June when compared with last year.

    One other sector that enjoyed an outsized gain in the second quarter was thermoforming. The index for thermoforming was 113.6 in the second quarter, which was significantly better than the 101.9 in the first quarter. Strong gains were noted for the new orders and production categories, while the sharp decline in prices received that was reported in the first quarter appears to have stabilized.

    RECOMMENDED FOR YOU
    Numbers That Matter Live — sign up for the next live
    Letter
    to the
    Editor

    Do you have an opinion about this story? Do you have some thoughts you'd like to share with our readers? Plastics News would love to hear from you. Email your letter to Editor at [email protected]

    Most Popular
    1
    Plastics industry social media accounts worth following
    2
    Gund buys Vanderveer Industrial Plastics
    3
    Recycling plant for laminated packaging launches in Mexico
    4
    PVC, PS resin prices take opposite paths in May
    5
    Target, Walmart cut from bag drop-off site directory following report
    SIGN UP FOR OUR FREE NEWSLETTERS
    EMAIL ADDRESS

    Please enter a valid email address.

    Please enter your email address.

    Please verify captcha.

    Please select at least one newsletter to subscribe.

    Get our newsletters

    Staying current is easy with Plastics News delivered straight to your inbox, free of charge.

    Subscribe today

    Subscribe to Plastics News

    Subscribe now
    Connect with Us
    • LinkedIn
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Instagram

    Plastics News covers the business of the global plastics industry. We report news, gather data and deliver timely information that provides our readers with a competitive advantage.

    Contact Us

    1155 Gratiot Avenue
    Detroit MI 48207-2997

    Customer Service:
    877-320-1723

    Resources
    • About
    • Staff
    • Editorial Calendar
    • Media Kit
    • Data Store
    • Digital Edition
    • Custom Content
    • People
    • Contact
    • Careers
    • Sitemap
    Related Crain Publications
    • Sustainable Plastics
    • Rubber News
    • Tire Business
    • Urethanes Technology
    Legal
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Privacy Policy
    • Privacy Request
    Copyright © 1996-2023. Crain Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
    • News
      • Processor News
        • Injection Molding
        • Blow Molding
        • Film & Sheet
        • Pipe/Profile/Tubing
        • Rotomolding
        • Thermoforming
        • Recycling
      • Suppliers
        • Machinery
        • Materials
        • Molds/Tooling
        • Product news
        • Design
      • More News
        • K Show
        • Mergers & Acquisitions
        • Sustainability
        • Public Policy
        • Material Insights Videos
        • Numbers that Matter
      • Digital Edition
      • End Markets
        • Automotive
        • Packaging
        • Medical
        • Consumer Products
        • Construction
      • Special Reports
        • Processor of the Year
        • Best Places to Work
          • 2023 winners
        • Women Breaking the Mold
        • Rising Stars
        • Diversity
        • Most Interesting Social Media Accounts in Plastics
      • Newsletters
      • Videos
    • Opinion
      • The Plastics Blog
      • Kickstart
      • One Good Resin
      • Pellets and Politics
      • All Things Data
      • Viewpoint
      • From Pillar to Post
      • Perspective
      • Mailbag
      • Fake Plastic Trees
    • Shop Floor
      • Blending
      • Compounding
      • Drying
      • Injection Molding
      • Purging
      • Robotics
      • Size Reduction
      • Structural Foam
      • Tooling
      • Training
    • Events
      • K Show Livestream
      • Plastics News Events
        • Plastics News Executive Forum
        • Injection Molding & Design Expo
        • Plastics News Caps & Closures
        • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum
        • Plastics in Automotive
      • Industry Events
      • Injection Molding & Design Expo
      • Livestreams/Webinars
        • Bioplastics Live
        • PN Live: Mergers and Acquisitions
      • Editorial Livestreams
        • Polymer Points Live
        • Numbers that Matter Live
        • Plastics in Politics Live
        • Sustainable Plastics Live
      • Ask the Expert
      • Plastics News Events Library
        • Plastics Caps & Closures Library
        • Plastics in Healthcare Library
        • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum Library
      • Processor of the Year submissions
    • Rankings & Data
      • Injection Molders
      • Blow Molders
      • Film Sheet
      • Thermoformers
      • Pipe Profile Tubing
      • Rotomolders
      • Mold/Toolmakers
      • LSR Processors
      • Recyclers
      • Compounders - List
      • Association - List
      • Plastic Lumber - List
      • All
    • Directory
    • Resin Prices
      • Resin Prices Overview
      • Commodity Thermoplastics
      • High Temperature Thermoplastics
      • Engineering Thermoplastics
      • Recycled Plastics
      • Thermosets
    • Custom
      • Sponsored Content
      • LS Mtron Sponsored Content
      • Conair Sponsored Content
      • KraussMaffei Sponsored Content
      • ENGEL Sponsored Content
      • White Papers
      • Classifieds
        • Place an Ad
        • Sign up for Early Classified