Matt Seaholm, President and CEO of the Plastics Industry Association (PLASTICS)
Every year, Manufacturing Day is an opportunity to recognize the people, companies and sectors that power America. For an industry behind so many of the products we rely on every day, manufacturing isn’t just a part of the plastics industry. It’s who we are.
Plastics manufacturers operate and invest in communities across the country. They employ skilled workers, advance new technologies, produce materials and give our favorite products a second chance through recycling. From cars and life-saving medical devices to food packaging, electronics, and construction materials, plastics, and the people who make them are essential to how America makes, builds and moves.
The data backs that up. According to the Plastics Industry Association’s latest Size & Impact Report, the U.S. plastics industry accounted for more than 1 million jobs and $533.6 billion in economic impact in 2025. When suppliers to the industry are included, that number grows to approximately 1.66 million jobs and $715.8 billion in output.
But perhaps the most significant is the strength of the workforce behind those numbers.
Over the past decade, plastics industry employment grew at an average annual rate of 0.8%, outpacing the 0.3% annual growth rate for manufacturing overall. That growth speaks to the resilience of an industry that has continued to invest, innovate and create opportunities even as manufacturers have navigated shifting global markets and trade uncertainty.
The impact can be felt from coast to coast. Texas leads the nation with more than 91,000plastics jobs, followed by Ohio with 77,500 and Michigan with 69,000. The industry supports tens of thousands more manufacturing jobs nationwide.
Manufacturing Day is also an opportunity to think about what plastics manufacturers need to thrive.
American companies need to be able to invest locally, compete globally and develop a skilled workforce. Policies like The One Big Beautiful Bill Act’s tax provisions supported manufacturers by allowing immediate deductions for research and development and qualifying equipment purchases. Congress can build on that progress by enacting permitting reform. The Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act would reduce permitting delays and help build the energy and infrastructure our members need to invest long-term.
The plastics industry is ready to keep doing our part by continuing to invest in American manufacturing, developing the next generation of leaders and finding new ways to make—and remake—the products that make our daily lives better and safer.
This Manufacturing Day, we’re proud to celebrate the men and women behind the plastics industry and the role they play in keeping American manufacturing strong and moving forward.
