Industry News
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Industry News
Plastics Production Since COVID-19 Recession Should Continue to Bounce Back
November 30, 2021 The U.S. plastics industry was designated by the U.S. government an essential industry last year as the economy went to into lockdowns to contain the spread of COVID-19. Plastics provide solutions in healthcare; the ongoing pandemic underscores plastics' role in protecting healthcare workers and the general population. Vaccination against COVID-19 is possible and affordable because of plastic packaging. At the same time, plastic syringes are an undeniably cost-effective packaging material for distribution of a global public good: the COVID-19 vaccine. -
Industry News
Plastics Industry Growth Prospects Intact Amid Slower Q3 for US Economy
November 22, 2021 The U.S. economy's slowdown in the third quarter may have come as a surprise to many after stellar growth rates in the first and second quarters. Following a 6.7% increase in output in the second quarter, the 2.0% increase in the third quarter came in lower than forecast. At the close of the third quarter, the U.S. was roughly a $19.5 trillion economy and $904.4 billion larger than a year earlier. -
Industry News
Farewell, Jay Gardiner (1951-2021)
October 22, 2021 Our association and the entire plastics industry lost a dear friend recently with the passing of Jay Gardiner. Not only was he a consummate professional in the field of plastics, he was a selfless citizen who served 30 years in his local fire department. -
Industry News
Global Plastics Ranking™: China, the U.S., and Germany Lead
October 18, 2021 The Plastics Industry Association (PLASTICS) recently issued its 2021 Global Trend Report. This PLASTICS' flagship publication takes a deep dive into the U.S. plastics trade with the rest of the world during the previous year and the first six months of the current year. It also provides a snapshot of the international plastics and rubber trade. -
Industry News
SPONSORED POST: Purging Compounds, Redefining Thermoplastics Efficiency
September 15, 2021 The thermoplastics industry requires precision, efficiency, and consistency. At Chem-Trend, we serve the thermoplastics sector by developing purging compounds and mold maintenance products and support customers in different thermoplastics processes, like injection molding, extrusion, and rotational molding. -
Industry News
Mind the gap: Increased productivity key to U.S. economic recovery
August 16, 2021 The COVID-19 recession was the shortest in U.S. history.[i] It started in February and ended in April last year. While the recession was short, it stopped our economy in its tracks. The recession caused a contraction of 5.1% in Q1 2020 and a contraction of 31.2% in Q2 2020 measured by real gross domestic product (GDP) on an annualized basis. Thereafter, real GDP growth bounced back at 33.8% in Q3 2020 and 4.5% in Q4 2020. In the first and second quarters this year, real GDP increased 6.3% and 6.5%, respectively. -
Industry News
PLASTICS Awards Donna Davis an Honorary Lifetime Membership
July 30, 2021 The Plastics Industry Association (PLASTICS), has awarded an honorary lifetime membership to Donna Davis, former ExxonMobil executive and member of the Plastics Hall of Fame. Davis expressed her great pleasure in receiving the honor, saying, “I am delighted to stay engaged in this organization which provides overarching insight to the industry and a voice for that industry to the public.” -
Industry News
An Update on Plastics Manufacturing Employment
July 27, 2021 In April 2020, plastics manufacturing employment decreased to 531,200 from 592,100 in March based on estimates from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. In May this year, the total number of employees in plastic products manufacturing increased to 589,200. While the gap is closing, manufacturing employment is still 2,900 short of March last year. -
Industry News
Inflation: The Economy’s Barking Dog
July 20, 2021 There is a barking dog in the economy and its name is inflation. Headline inflation in June, measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI), came in at 5.4% from a year earlier. Core inflation, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, was 4.5% in June. While energy commodities and used car prices magnified the increase in prices last month, the business and household sectors of the economy have had to deal with rising prices since March. Following 2.6% inflation in March, April and May continued to see inflation at 4.2% and 4.9%, respectively.