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
    • Podcasts
    • 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
    • Notable Leaders in Sustainability
    • Processor of the Year
    • Best Places to Work
    • 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
    • Plastics News Events
    • Industry Events
    • Injection Molding & Design Expo
    • Livestreams/Webinars
    • Editorial Livestreams
    • Ask the Expert
    • Plastics News Events Library
    • Plastics News Executive Forum
    • Injection Molding & Design Expo
    • Plastics Caps + Closures: A Global Online Event
    • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum
    • Bioplastics Live
    • Numbers that Matter Live
    • PFAS Live
    • Plastics in Politics Live
    • PN Live: Mergers and Acquisitions
    • Polymer Points 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
    • Europe - Virgin
    • Europe - Recycled
    • Europe - Feedstock
  • 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
June 21, 2021 04:41 PM

Machinery shipments down in Q1 but poised for growth

Catherine Kavanaugh
Senior Reporter
Plastics News Staff
  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Share
  • Email
  • More
    Reprints Print
    Plastics Industry Association

    Shipments of primary plastic machinery in North America totaled $334.9 million in the first quarter of 2021, dropping about 11 percent compared with the prior quarter while following a seasonal pace, according to preliminary estimates from the Plastics Industry Association.

    The decrease in shipments of injection molding machines and extruders comes on the heels of three consecutive quarters of growth, the Washington-based trade group said in a news release about figures compiled by its Committee on Equipment Statistics.

    Compared with the first quarter of 2020, when the pandemic was declared and manufacturing came to a grinding halt, plastics machinery shipments increased a solid 31.9 percent.

    Perc Pineda, chief economist of the trade group, isn't surprised the quarter-to-quarter data came in lower.

    "This is in sync with overall economic activity that is usually slow, starting every first quarter," Pineda said. "Judging from a year-over-year comparison, plastics machinery shipments were actually off to a good start."

    Bill Wood, Plastics News' economics editor, agrees that overall the numbers look pretty good.

    "Comparisons to last year will not provide much insight," Wood said, pointing instead to a chart released by the committee showing Q1 2019 shipment values of about $300 million, which was before COVID-19, compared with Q1 2021's shipment values of $335 million.

    "So it looks like the market is off to a good start," Wood said. "The data and growth rates in the second half of this year will be interesting because the second half of last year was actually pretty strong."

    If the economy stays in a recovery cycle, Pineda expects plastics machinery shipments to increase this year.

    "However, supply chain issues in plastics end markets could slow growth in plastics equipment demand, so we'll be watching market dynamics very closely in the coming months," he cautioned.

    Lumber, semiconductors, steel, metals and chlorine are among the materials in short supply due to the pandemic, ice storms and other factors. The material shortages and associated price hikes are wreaking havoc on everything from homebuilding to car dealership inventories to pool cleaning supplies.

    A bright spot in terms of the value of shipped machines has been twin-screw extruders, which increased by 42.3 percent from quarter to quarter and by 18.3 percent over the same period in 2020. The machines extrude pipe, granules, wood plastic composites, profiles and materials used in the medical industry.

    Also in the first quarter, the values of shipped injection molding equipment decreased by 11.1 percent compared with the fourth quarter of 2020 but increased 39.8 percent compared to the prior year. Single-screw extruders decreased by 38.3 percent from quarter to quarter and by 28.9 percent from year to year.

    Market sentiment is up, however. The trade group's equipment committee surveys plastics machinery suppliers every quarter about market conditions and expectations. Overall, the outlook is very optimistic, according to Pineda.

    "The equipment sector of the plastics industry came out of 2020 strong," he said. "The much-improved trade outlook will be a positive for plastics equipment suppliers on top of what can be expected as another good year for plastics equipment demand."

    There is a little skepticism about the coming quarter. Some 89.5 percent of respondents expect conditions to improve or hold steady. That's lower than the 96 percent that felt similarly in the previous quarter. But for the next 12 months, 93 percent of survey takers expect steady-to-better market conditions, which is up from 89.8 percent in the fourth-quarter 2020 survey.

    In other statistics, the trade group says plastics machinery total exports increased by 9.4 percent to $395 million in the first quarter compared to the fourth quarter 2020.

    Imports fell by 3.5 percent to $845 million, creating a $450 million trade deficit, which was 12.6 percent lower than in the fourth quarter of 2020.

    Also, the volume of merchandise trade is expected to increase this year as global economic conditions improve.

    RECOMMENDED FOR YOU
    Italy-based packaging maker Omnia expands to Ontario
    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
    Greif adds to blow molding business with acquisition
    2
    Stratasys back on the block after $1.8B merger falls through
    3
    An 8,000-ton dream for Milacron, 20/20 Custom Molded Plastics
    4
    Documentary looks at how ‘we love to hate' packaging
    5
    How reshoring went from fringe idea to strategic vision
    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.

    Find more newsletters at plasticsnews.com/newsletters.

    You can unsubscribe at any time through links in these emails. For more information, see our Privacy Policy.

    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
        • Notable Leaders in Sustainability
        • Processor of the Year
        • Best Places to Work
        • Women Breaking the Mold
        • Rising Stars
        • Diversity
        • Most Interesting Social Media Accounts in Plastics
      • Newsletters
      • Videos
      • Podcasts
    • 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
      • Plastics News Events
        • Plastics News Executive Forum
        • Injection Molding & Design Expo
        • Plastics Caps + Closures: A Global Online Event
        • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum
      • Industry Events
      • Injection Molding & Design Expo
      • Livestreams/Webinars
      • Editorial Livestreams
        • Bioplastics Live
        • Numbers that Matter Live
        • PFAS Live
        • Plastics in Politics Live
        • PN Live: Mergers and Acquisitions
        • Polymer Points 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
    • 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
      • Europe - Virgin
      • Europe - Recycled
      • Europe - Feedstock
    • 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