La Jolla, Calif. — The U.S. plastics market can escape its current slump by changing its value proposition and by wanting what the market wants.
That's the outlook of Plastics News Economics Editor Bill Wood, who spoke March 11 at the PN Executive Forum in La Jolla.
"We have to make plastics good again with the value proposition that [plastic] is easier to be reused than any other material," said Wood, founder of market analysis and forecast firm Mountaintop Economics & Research Inc.
The U.S. plastics market currently is in a difficult place, with industry utilization rates down, along with drops in other plastics-heavy areas like new home construction and motor vehicle builds.
The U.S. industry also faces "indentifiable risks," such as domestic policy around immigration, government job cuts and a potential government shutdown, according to Wood, although he added that policy "is secondary to what moves markets."
Tariffs — such as those proposed by President Donald Trump's administration on Canada and Mexico — "don't solve anything. I want markets to compete on value," Wood said.
On the topic of sustainability, Wood added that a circular economy "has to include plastics." But he added that "no one wants to pay for sustainability. They want to throw things out and make them someone else' s problem."
"The primary problem with recycling is that the market hasn't accepted it," Wood said. "Want what the market wants."
"Markets aren't infallible, but free market choice is the best way to promote prosperity and long-term success."