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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

INDUSTRY LEADERS TO NATIONAL DECISION MAKERS: PLASTICS MANUFACTURING MATTERS!

WASHINGTON, DC (September 8, 2003) - Nearly 100 plastics industry leaders from across the United States will converge on the U.S. Capitol on September 11 with a banner and a message: "Plastics Manufacturing Matters!"

The members of The Society of the Plastics Industry, Inc. (SPI) also will deliver a petition signed by more than 11,000 Americans employed by the U.S. plastics industry, as well as new trade figures that show the depth of the problem, said SPI President Donald K. Duncan.

"The signatures of concerned citizens we collected are just the tip of the iceberg," Duncan said. "We want Members of Congress and White House officials to look below the water line - to the 1.5 million American jobs that will remain in jeopardy in our industry unless something is done."

At issue, and at risk, Duncan said, is plastics processing, the nation's fourth-largest industry. "As our petition notes," he explained, "the economic environment has changed significantly for our industry in the past few years, as devastating economic conditions and deleterious domestic and international policies have coalesced to drive plastics processors out of business or offshore and force workers into unemployment." These conditions, he said, in just two years caused the industry's $894-million trade surplus in products to plummet to a $1.4-billion trade deficit.

"And that's not the worst of it," he said. "New SPI data shows that, when all the diverse applications not counted under the government's definition as 'plastic' - such as those used in autos, electronics, housewares and a myriad of other products - are added to the equation, the U.S. plastics industry amassed a $14-billion trade deficit in 'contained plastic products' in 2002." More than half the shortfall, he added, is attributable to China.

The impact of these numbers, Duncan maintained, "extends beyond our own industry, which annually creates $320 billion in shipments, to impact the state of U.S. manufacturing in general and the entire U.S. economy."

The 1:45 p.m. event, to be held on the east front of the Senate steps, is just the beginning of this campaign, Duncan said. "Congressional and Administration leaders need to understand that plastics manufacturing - and all U.S. manufacturing - needs their help." And that help, he said, must come in the form of a "comprehensive program that will work for our nation's manufacturers and not against them."

Among priorities for the plastics industry, he said, are initiatives that promote free and fair trade worldwide, reliable and reasonably priced natural gas, tax policies that encourage capital investment and manufacturing growth, tort reform, sensible and meaningful insurance reform and a regulatory system based on sound science.

"For its part, the plastics industry will step up to the challenge by continuing to innovate and to increase productivity," Duncan said. "All we ask is help from our nation's leaders in creating an equitable competitive environment and providing the tools we need to thrive in it."

Founded in 1937, The Society of the Plastics Industry, Inc., is the trade association representing one of the largest manufacturing industries in the United States. SPI's members represent the entire plastics industry supply chain, including processors, machinery and equipment manufacturers and raw materials suppliers. For more information, visit SPI on the Web at www.plasticsindustry.org.

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