The value of shipments from the U.S. plastics industry increased in 2022 as the number of people employed by the industry also grew.
The 2022 value of shipments came in at $548.2 billion, up almost 3 percent vs. 2021, according to Perc Pineda, chief economist with the Plastics Industry Association in Washington. Pineda spoke Sept. 7 during a webinar announcing the release of the association's annual Size & Impact Report. Shipment value also had grown in 2021 after showing a slight decline in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The number of people working in the U.S. plastics industry increased from slightly more than 999,000 in 2021 to just over 1 million in 2023, an increase of almost 2 percent. The industry also continued its long-term growth average of 1.1 percent in real value added from 1997-2022, even as overall U.S. manufacturing declined 1 percent per year in that category.
"Plastics continues to be one of the largest manufacturing sectors in the country," President and CEO Matt Seaholm said during the webinar. "And it's growing because plastic is a remarkable material. It's lightweight and it saves lives."
He added that the industry "is investing billions to make sure that more plastic gets recycled."
The report contained many other data points, including a reduction of 2 percent in the number of plastics manufacturing locations. That number in 2022 was 12,395. More than 84 percent of those locations made plastic products.
Among individual states, Texas led the way with 75,900 plastics jobs, just ahead of Ohio at 75,400 and California at 74,100. Those were followed by Michigan (64,800) and Pennsylvania (53,000). The next five states on the plastics jobs list were Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin, North Carolina and Georgia.
Based on population density, Indiana led the country with 15.9 plastics jobs per 1,000 nonfarm jobs, followed by Wisconsin and Michigan, each with 14.9.
California and Michigan each ranked first in two specific plastics jobs categories. California is home to 11.3 percent of plastics wholesale trade jobs and 8.8 percent of captive plastic production. Michigan has 19.8 percent of mold making jobs and 12.8 percent of plastics machinery jobs.
In other job categories, Ohio had 7.9 percent of plastic product jobs and Texas had 20.8 percent of materials and resins jobs.
Pineda cited some headwinds challenging the industry in 2023, including higher costs of capital, weaker household spending and inventory and capacity adjustments. He added that plastics and other industries are being affected by an increasing number of bankruptcies.
Tailwinds helping the industry in 2023, according to Pineda, include a strong labor market, reshoring activity and stable demand for health care and consumer essentials. Spending on capital expenditures also increased for second straight year in 2022 after declining in 2020.
"The industry still has so much value," Pineda said. "The underlying trend is that [the industry] is still growing."