North American Plastics Machinery Shipments Grew in the Third Quarter

The Plastics Industry Association (PLASTICS) reported that North American shipments of primary plastics machinery were once again on the rise in the third quarter after contracting slightly in the first and second quarter of 2021. The report, compiled by PLASTICS’ Committee on Equipment Statistics (CES), estimated $333.8 million in shipments from reporting companies in the third quarter—4.0% higher than the previous quarter and up 8.8% from the year prior.

Twin-screw extruders jumped 44.4% in the third quarter and 61.2% compared to the third quarter last year. Single-screw extruder shipments rose by 7.2% and 15.9% on a quarterly and year-over year basis, respectively, while injection molding shipments edged up 1.6% from the second quarter and 5.7% from a year earlier.

Perc Pineda, PLASTICS’ chief economist, noted that the increase in equipment shipments tracks with higher plastics production, which rose 4.2% compared to the second quarter and 5.9% over the year-ago quarter.

In its quarterly survey of plastics machinery suppliers, CES reported that 75.5% expected market conditions to either improve or hold steady in the coming quarter. That was lower than the 92.7% of respondents who expressed the same view in the second quarter’s survey. Looking forward, 75.0% expected market conditions to be steady-to-better over the next year. That is also lower than the 78.7% of respondents in the previous quarter’s survey who were expecting growth in the next 12 months.

Plastics machinery exports rose by 6.1% to $390.2 million over the second quarter, with Mexico and Canada remaining the top export markets for U.S. plastics machinery. The combined exports to USMCA partners in the third quarter totaled $172.6 million, which represented 44.2% of total plastics machinery exports. Imports fell by 3.0% to $848.4 million resulting in a $458.3 million trade deficit. The U.S. plastics machinery trade deficit decreased by 9.6% in the third quarter.

In a release, Pineda said the outlook for plastics machinery in the second half of 2021 is positive despite some challenges. “The likelihood that supply-chain issues will continue to be a headwind in 2022 remains high,” Pineda said. “The globe is still emerging from the pandemic.”