NEWS
German machinery makers see 10% market decline for 2019
German plastics and rubber machinery production is forecast to decline by 10% or more in 2019, according to VDMA trade association data based on reports from its member companies. In 2018, German machinery manufacturers increased total turnover by 2% over 2017 to €7.9bn. That was less than the 3% growth the association had originally predicted due to the market weakening towards the end of the year. Orders fell by 1% for 2018 but slumped by 10% year-on-year for Q1 2019 – a trend which VDMA says is likely to continue through the course of this year. The association identifies
three main negative factors: a cyclical downturn
more intensely. But also in the packaging sector, use of plastics materials is increas- ingly being questioned.” The downturn is not even
across the industry. Machinery executives have privately told Compounding World that orders for injection moulding
German plastics and rubber machinery production Source: VDMA
reinforced by “great
insecurity” in the automotive and packaging sectors; trade conflict between the US and China causing shifts in supply chains; and uncertainty in Europe around the UK’s exit from the EU and Italy’s national debt.
“Investments [in automo-
tive] are virtually at a standstill,” said Thorsten Kühmann, Managing Director of VDMA’s plastics machinery group. “Compa- nies that are very close to this sales market already perceive this downturn even
US machine sales slump in Q1
The value of primary plastics machinery shipped in the US slumped in Q1 2019, according to statistics compiled and reported by the Plastics Industry Associa- tion’s Committee on
Equipment Statistics (CES). The CES preliminary
estimate puts Q1 2019 shipments at $273m – nearly 28% lower than Q4 2018 and 18% down on Q1 2018. It is the weakest Q1 result it
has recorded since 2013. “First quarter data usually comes in soft, but the declines reflect the expectation of weaker US and global economic growth,” said Perc Pineda, Chief Economist at the association.
US primary plastics machinery shipments 2017-2019 Source: Plastics Industry Association’s Committee on Equipment Statistics
12 COMPOUNDING WORLD | July 2019
“Demand in the plastics industry is expected to remain positive against the backdrop of slower US economic growth this year. However, plastics machinery makers should also consider that weaker global econom- ic conditions will have knock-on effects,” he said. �
www.plasticsindustry.org
machinery have declined by 30% or more while demand for recycling equipment is proving robust.
German machinery
exports increased by 1.5% to €5.43bn in 2018. Exports to China climbed by 19% to €853m, making it the top destination. The US dropped to second in the list of major export countries, as exports from Germany to the US fell by 3% to €820m. �
https://kug.vdma.org/en/
Chase Plastics to expand
US distributor Chase Plastics has broken ground on a major expansion of its distribution centre at South Bend, Indiana. The project should be complete in 2020 and will increase warehouse capacity at the plant, which opened in 2016, by more than 60% by adding 5,570m2
of extra space.
The plans will increase material throughput by about 33%. �
www.chaseplastics.com
www.compoundingworld.com
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