Industry News

    • Industry News

      A Cross-border Conversation on Plastics Trade

      PLASTICS' Chief Economist sat down with the President of Mexico’s plastics industry trade association to talk about plastics trade between the U.S. and Mexico.
    • Industry News

      On R&D First-Year Full Expensing—Why it Matters to the Plastics Industry and the Macroeconomy

      As of January 1, 2022, businesses can no longer deduct research and development (R&D) costs in the same year they are incurred. Instead, R&D costs must be capitalized and amortized over time. There is a difference, however, in amortization depending on where the R&D expenses took place. With the recent change in R&D expensing, domestic R&D expenses must be capitalized and amortized over a five-year period. Foreign R&D, that is R&D expenses paid to a foreign contractor, must be amortized over 15 years.
    • Industry News

      Plastics Machinery Shipments Exhibit 2022 Fourth Quarter Increases

      Shipments of primary plastics machinery (injection molding and extrusion) in North America increased in the fourth quarter of 2022, according to the statistics compiled and reported by the Plastics Industry Association’s (PLASTICS) Committee on Equipment Statistics (CES).
    • Industry News

      Retail Sales off to a Good Start in 2023?

      Given that two-thirds of the U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) is personal consumption expenditures, strong consumer spending data are greeted with optimism in the plastics industry. According to the advanced retail sales estimates by the U.S. Census Bureau for January of 2023, U.S. retail sales rose by 3.0% from December and 6.4% from a year earlier.
    • Industry News

      PLASTICS Members Are Great Employers

      Of the 22 plastics companies named Plastics News Best Places to Work for 2023, more than a third are members of the Plastics Industry Association (PLASTICS), and we want to take this opportunity to congratulate them.
    • Economic Analysis - Dr. Perc Pineda

      Industry News

      Consumers Rein in Spending…Again…in December

      The advanced monthly retail sales estimates for December recently released by the U.S. Census Bureau showed another month of pullback in monthly consumer spending.
    • Industry News

      The U.S. Plastics Industry in 2022 in Seven Charts

      The U.S. plastics industry continued to grow in 2022 against the backdrop of weaker domestic and global economic growth. All told, demand for plastics and plastic products stayed stable in 2022.
    • Industry News

      Federal Reserve Signals Further Monetary Policy Tightening

      The Federal Reserve raised the economy’s benchmark interest rate by 50 basis points (bps) at the Federal Open Market Committee’s final meeting in December of this year. The move takes the federal funds rate to a 4.25% to 4.50% target range, which means the U.S. prime rate is now 7.5%.
    • Industry News

      U.S. Plastics Trade with Latin America Under Free Trade Agreements: Strong Rebound

      The proximity of the U.S. and Latin America comes with tremendous trade opportunities among countries in this region. Moreover, the U.S. has free trade agreements (FTAs) with 11 countries in Latin America. While trade between the U.S. and Latin America has been growing, COVID-19 caused trade to decrease from 2019 to 2020 as countries locked down.