U.S. plastics machinery shipments down 6 per cent in Q2 2006: SPI

U.S. manufacturers and importers of primary plastics machinery shipped $241 million worth of primary machinery — excluding components and auxiliary equipment — in the second quarter 2006, representing an overall decline of 6 per cent from the $257 million shipped in second quarter 2005, according to figures released by the Society of the Plastics Industry Inc.’s (SPI) Committee on Machinery Statistics.

The report concluded, however, by forecasting an overall gain of approximately 6 per cent for shipments of all plastics machinery by the close of 2006.

The drop-off in second quarter 2006 is attributed in part to the 2006 National Plastics Exhibition (NPE) that took place in Chicago, Ill., in June.

“In a large percentage of past NPE years the primary machinery shipment totals have been lower than would otherwise be expected in the first half of the year,” Bill Wood, an economist who contributed to SPI’s report, said.

According to the report, extrusion machinery unit shipments increased 31 per cent over second quarter 2005 figures, while the plastics components sector shipments rose 6 per cent. The number of injection molding machines shipped fell by 10 per cent when compared to second quarter 2005, and shipments of blow molding equipment declined seven units from the number shipped during the same period last year.