SPI reports strong second-quarter machinery shipments

WASHINGTON — Plastics machinery shipments rose by 5.5 percent in the second quarter measured by value — a growth rate stronger than overall industrial machinery, according to the Society of the Plastics Industry Inc.

SPI's Committee on Equipment Statistics said the value of shipments of primary plastics machinery — injection molding, extrusion and blow molding machines — was $303.5 million in the second quarter. That is an increase of 6.7 percent compared with the shipments from the second quarter of 2014, and 5.5 percent from shipments of $287.7 in the first quarter of 2015.

For the first half, the value of primary plastics equipment shipments was up 3.9 percent over the first half of last year, SPI said.

Washington-based SPI released the numbers Sept. 9.

The second-quarter plastics equipment gain was moderately stronger than another major industrial machinery market indicator from the Census Bureau, which showed the total value of general industrial machinery increased by 2.4 percent in the second quarter of 2015, compared to the second quarter a year ago.

And plastics economist Bill Wood said the plastics machinery sector has rebounded consistently since the Great Recession.

“The CES shipments data have steadily posted year-over-year gains in every quarter since 2010. This is a better performance than many other sectors of the U.S. and global economy,” Wood wrote in the SPI report.

Wood, who runs Mountaintop Economics & Research Inc., said U.S. gross domestic product should continue growing at an annual rate of at least 2 percent for the rest of 2015.

“This bodes well for the plastics industry markets because it will continue to generate rising aggregate demand,” he said.

Breaking out the data, shipments of injection molding machines increased by 3.9 percent in the second quarter from the year-ago period. Blow molding shipments jumped 66.4 percent. Extruder shipments were flat — the value of twin-screw extruders (including co-rotating and counter-rotating machines), eked out a gain of 1 percent in the quarter, but single-screw extruders slipped 1.5 percent.

CES reported that new bookings for auxiliary equipment jumped 12.4 percent in the second quarter, from the level of the second quarter a year ago, totaling $121.4 million.

“Despite the volatility in the stock market in recent weeks, the underlying fundamentals indicate that the recovery in the U.S. economy is still intact,” Wood said. “The plastics industry has been a growth leader for the U.S. manufacturing sector throughout the recovery, and this will continue through the foreseeable future. Consumer confidence is rising, residential construction activity is accelerating, and stronger economic growth is expected for the rest of the year.”

In a survey, machinery officials said automotive and packaging will remain strong markets for equipment and plastics products.

The SPI machinery data is compiled by a confidential third-party firm, Veris Consulting LLC.

Wood's firm, Mountaintop Economics and Research, is based in Greenfield, Mass. Wood also is Plastics News' economics editor.