North American Plastics Equipment Shipments Contract in First Quarter
More indicative of a seasonal slow down than a market shift, the shipments value was down 11.1% from the final quarter of 2020 after three straight quarters of growth.
After three straight quarters of growth following the pandemic-shutdown-filled first quarter of 2020, North American shipments of primary plastics machinery contracted in the first three months of 2021, reflecting a seasonally slow time of year versus a longer downward shift, according to the Plastics Industry Association (PLASTICS).
PLASTICS noted in the report, compiled by its Committee on Equipment Statistics (CES), that despite being 11.1% lower than the final quarter of 2020, the first quarter of 2021 still registered at 31.9% higher than the first quarter of 2020.
PLASTICS said CES’s preliminary estimate of shipment value from reporting companies totaled $334.9 million for the first quarter, marking three consecutive quarterly increase in plastics machinery shipments year-over-year.
Perc Pineda, Chief Economist of PLASTICS, said in a release that plastics machinery shipments typically start the year slow, and that the overall outlook remains strong, with that strength to be relative to ongoing supply chain issues, moving forward. “Judging from a year-over-year comparison, plastics machinery shipments were actually off to a good start,” Pineda said. “With the economy staying in a recovery cycle, machinery shipments can be expected 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.”
Results By Process
The value of injection molding equipment shipments decreased by 11.1% in the first quarter of 2021, but was 39.8% above the year-ago results. Single-screw extruder shipments dropped 38.3% compared to the fourth quarter and were 28.9% lower than the first quarter of 2020. Twin-screw extruder shipments, however, jumped 42.3% in the first quarter of 2021 and rose by 18.3% over the same period in 2020.
Trade Balance
Total exports of plastics machinery in the first quarter of 2021 increased 9.4% to $395 million over the previous quarter. Imports, meanwhile, fell by 3.5% to $845 million, resulting in a $450 million trade deficit, which was 12.6% lower than in the final quarter of 2020. The volume of merchandise trade is expected to increase this year as global economic conditions improve.
Optimistic Outlook
In addition to compiling equipment sales data, PLASTIC’s CES also conducts a quarterly survey of plastics machinery suppliers regarding present market conditions and future expectations. In the coming quarter, 89.5% of respondents expected conditions to improve or hold steady compared to a year ago. That was lower than the 96% that felt similarly in the previous quarter. Looking out over the next 12 months, 93% expected market conditions to be steady-to-better. This is higher than the 89.8% with the same response in the fourth quarter 2020 survey.
Shipments of injection molding machines in North America were down in the first quarter of 2021 compared to the fourth, but up more than 39% compared to the year-ago period.
