2003 trade figures show plastics still strong

Canada’s shipments of plastic products grew in 2003, to a total of $36.3 billion, up from $34.8 billion in 2002, according to the Canadian Plastics Industry Association (CPIA). CPIA tracks data from Statistics Canada, and their report on the industry for 2003 shows that figures are up, at least slightly, through all subsectors, compared with 2002. Indications for 2004 suggest that the growth rate has been rising through the year.
The growth of the Canadian plastics industry over the last five years has been almost three times that of the "all manufacturing", according to CPIA. Between 1998 and 2003, the gross domestic product for all manufacturing was up 3.45 times, while GDP for plastic products was up 9.94 times.