Plastics machinery shipments improve in the second quarter

The shipments value of primary plastics machinery shipments in North America increased in the second quarter, according to the statistics compiled and reported by the Plastics Industry Association’s Committee on Equipment Statistics.

Following a 27.6 per cent decrease in the first quarter, plastics machinery shipments increased 8.2 per cent in the second quarter.

However, shipments remained sluggish for the second quarter of the previous year, at 12.7 per cent lower.

The preliminary estimate of shipment value from reporting companies totalled $2295.3 million.

Injection moulding shipments rose 7.4 per cent and single and twin extrusion shipments increased 13.6 per cent and 13.9 per cent respectively.

Perc Pineda, Chief Economist at PLASTICS, said: “The second quarter numbers are encouraging, but machinery shipments remain comparatively lower than the previous quarters.”

“What’s happening is not surprising judging from the macroeconomic environment. Real business investment spending in the second quarter fell 5.5 per cent. In particular, the investment spending in industrial equipment flattened in the second quarter.”