PN Economics Editor Bill Wood is cautiously optimistic about the outlook for the U.S. plastics industry following the Fed's half-point interest rate cut last week.
But there’s one area where he expects a more immediate impact: plastics industry mergers and acquisitions.
“That's one of the industries that can move fairly quickly to interest rate changes. I think financial people tend to understand expectations for interest rates and that kind of thing, at a far deeper level than households do, and what to expect and what to look for,” Wood said in the Sept. 24 Numbers that Matter editorial livestream. Recording below.
“And I think there are people in the M&A business that understand the concept of cycles, trying to buy at the bottom and that kind of thing. So I would expect that to pick up,” Wood said.
Wood gave an in-depth snapshot on key plastics markets, emphasizing that the slow market for single-family home construction continues to be a drag on plastics manufacturing. Low capacity utilization is also a concern, especially for machinery sales.
The next Numbers that Matter Live is scheduled for Tuesday, Oct. 22.