“The worst is behind us”: CPIA report

After a very slow start to the year, the Canadian plastics industry began to come back to life during the second half of 2009, although it ended the year with the dollar value of total shipments down 18 per cent over the previous year.

This is the conclusion reached by a recent “economic dashboard” report released by the Canadian Plastics Industry Association (CPIA).

According to the report – which is available to CPIA members through the organization’s website – there were 49,383 plastics-related manufacturing shipments in 2009, compared with 59,822 during 2008. 

“This fall-off reflects a trend that’s been with us since the industry zenith in 2004-2005,” said Mark Badger, CPIA president and CEO. “In terms of employment, the industry has contracted over 30 per cent during this same period.”

The dashboard report was based on a variety of government and other economic statistics, and put together by well-known Toronto-based research firm Prism Economics.

In an video interview with Canadian Plastics (available for viewing at this link) Badger elaborated on some of the report’s findings. “Hardest hit were automotive and building products,” he said. “The contraction was more muted in packaging, which still tends to be a growth engine for the industry, as does the use of composites in things like wind energy, and also plastics in medical applications.”

The report ends on a relatively positive note, Badger continued. “We anticipate the Canadian plastics industry will show a mid-single digit growth in 2010,” he said. “In particular, we expect to see bounces in activity within the auto, packaging and construction industries.”