End Market Tracker & Forecaster
| Average Annual % Change |
| |
10 Years |
5 Years |
3 Years |
| Packaging Plastics Index |
4.5 |
4.8 |
3.2 |
| Retail Sales ex. autos |
5.6 |
5.3 |
6.7 |
Packaging
Return to Injection Molding Business Index
 The Packaging Plastics Index dropped by 10% during the latest month when compared with last year. This followed an 8% decline in the previous month.
 The forecast for the Packaging Plastics Index calls for a rise of 2% in 2008. This follows a slight gain in 2007.
The U.S. economy will expand at a below-average rate in the near-term, but resins prices will begin to moderate in the second half of 2008. The growth rate will be below average, but demand for most types of plastics packaging products will stay solid throughout 2008.
The trend in U.S. retail sales (minus autos) correlates with the trends in demand for consumer products and packaging products such as blow molded bottles, injection molded caps, and packaging film.
Total U.S. retail sales (minus autos) will expand a 5% in 2008 after a rise of 4.6% in 2007.
Total retail sales increased moderately in March when compared with the previous month, and the total was 3% higher when compared with the same month last year.
| Packaging Data |
|
|
| |
| Latest |
Previous |
Year |
YTD% |
Annual % Change |
| |
Month |
Month |
Ago |
Change |
2006 |
2007 |
2008 |
| Packaging Plastics Index (1) (2004=100) |
94.2 |
90.9 |
104.0 |
-6.4 |
2.0 |
0.2 |
2.0 |
| Total U.S Retail Sales ex. autos (2) bils. of $, SA |
306.2 |
305.7 |
296.3 |
5.6 |
7.3 |
4.6 |
5.0 |
| Foodservices & Drinking Places (2) bils. of $, SA |
38.4 |
38.3 |
37.0 |
5.5 |
8.1 |
5.2 |
5.0 |
| Grocery Stores (2) bils. of $, SA |
43.9 |
43.7 |
41.9 |
6.6 |
4.1 |
5.5 |
5.0 |
(1) Latest Data = March 2008
(2) Latest Data = March 2008 |
Data Sources: U.S. Commerce Dept., Mountaintop Economics & Research, Inc.
Forecasts: Mountaintop Economics & Research, Inc.
|
