Perc Pineda, PhD
Chief Economist, Plastics Industry Association
The Plastics Industry Association annual flagship publication, Size and Impact of the U.S. Plastics Industry, highlights an often underappreciated channel of plastics demand: services. In 2024, an estimated 74% of plastic products ultimately flowed into final consumption. Of that share, a meaningful portion was absorbed by the services sector.
Healthcare services alone accounted for 9.6% of final plastics consumption, followed by food and beverage establishments at 3.6%. Other services—comprising sectors such as personal care, accommodation, and recreation—made up an additional 10.2%. Altogether, services represented 23.4% of total plastics consumption in 2024, underscoring that plastics demand is not confined to manufacturing or construction, but is deeply embedded in service-oriented economic activity.
Household Spending Holds the Key
The prominence of services in plastics demand reflects broader shifts in the U.S. economy. Roughly 66% of total personal consumption expenditures (PCE) are directed toward services, making household spending patterns a critical driver of plastics end-use demand.
Since 2022, real services consumption has grown at an average quarterly rate of 2.9%—on par with durable goods and notably stronger than the 1.4% growth in nondurable goods. This sustained expansion reinforces the structural importance of services as a stable and growing outlet for plastics.
This momentum carried into 2026. Real services PCE reached $11.07 trillion in January 2026, up from $10.78 trillion a year earlier, signaling continued resilience in consumer demand for services despite broader economic uncertainty.
Healthcare: A Stable Anchor for Plastics Demand
Healthcare remains one of the most reliable end markets for plastics. In January 2026, real PCE on healthcare was estimated at $3.0 trillion. Plastics are integral to this sector, widely used in medical devices, diagnostic equipment, packaging, and disposable supplies. Their versatility, durability, and cost efficiency contribute directly to improving access and affordability in healthcare delivery.
It is noteworthy that in state and local general government, specifically hospitals and health services, of the $99.4 billion in final demand, plastics content is estimated at $7.4 billion—or 7.4 cents per dollar in 2024.*
Long-term data show that healthcare consistently accounts for approximately 16% to 18% of total PCE, reflecting its structural stability. This consistency positions healthcare as a dependable baseline for plastics demand, largely insulated from cyclical swings.
Food Services: A Consistent Source of Demand
Food services also play a meaningful role. Real PCE in food services reached approximately $910 billion (correcting for scale) in January 2026. Plastics are widely used in packaging, food safety applications,
and takeaway and delivery systems, making the sector an important downstream user.
As a share of total PCE, food services consumption has remained within a relatively narrow range of 3.7% to 6.0% since 2007. This stability suggests that, while smaller than healthcare, food services provide a consistent and predictable source of plastics demand tied closely to everyday consumer behavior.
Other Services Rely on Plastics
In January 2026, real PCE on other services were estimated at $1.5 trillion, reflecting a 3.6% year-over-year increase. As a share of total PCE, spending on other services has remained relatively stable, fluctuating between 8.0% and 9.2%.
Other services—which include communications, education, personal care, and clothing services—represent an important downstream market for plastics. The role of plastics in these sectors is often embedded and indirect, but nonetheless essential. For example, continued innovation in communications—particularly the expansion of digitalization and cloud computing—has driven demand for data infrastructure. Data centers rely heavily on plastics in hardware components, insulation, and the extensive networks of wire and cable that enable connectivity. In January 2026, PCE on communications services alone was estimated at $361 billion.
Public sector demand further reinforces this link. In 2024, state and local government spending on other services reached an estimated $1.2 trillion, with plastics content embedded in that demand estimated at $610 billion. Similarly, spending on education services totaled $1.2 trillion, with an even higher plastics content of $6.8 billion*—reflecting the widespread use of plastics in facilities, equipment, electronics, and instructional materials.
The bottom line, the data reinforces a longstanding realty: plastics demand is increasingly tied to services-led consumption rather than purely goods-producing sectors. With services dominating household spending—and key segments like healthcare and food services showing steady growth—plastics producers and processors are more exposed than ever to the trajectory of consumer services demand.plastics manufacturers with a clearer view of market timing, product application opportunities, and potential areas for growth in an evolving construction landscape.
