NEWS


US plastic machine sales decline in second quarter


Sales of plastics processing machinery declined in the second quarter of this year. The Plastics Industry


Association’s Committee on Equipment Statistics (CES) said that machinery sales were nearly US$225 million for the quarter – a 36% fall on the same period in 2023. At the same time, it was around 15% lower than the first quarter of this year Sales of single-screw


extruders fell nearly 29% year-on-year, but were about 3% higher than the previous quarter. Twin-screw extruder sales fell 25% year-on-year and around 24% on the previous


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quarter. For comparison, sales of injection moulding machines were down 38% year-on-year, and around 16% compared to the previous quarter. “The second consecutive


quarter of decline is not due to a pullback in plastics demand,” said Perc Pineda, chief economist at the association. “There is no indication that the baseline demand for plastic products has deteriorated.” He said manufacturers’ finished goods inventories of plastics and rubber products were estimated at US$15.0 billion in June this year, compared to


US$15.2bn in June 2023, indicating slow inventory adjustments. “While the rate of decline in the second quarter was significantly less than in the first quarter, the industry continues to deal with higher interest rates, and that’s weighing on capital expendi- ture plans,” said Pineda. The latest CES quarterly survey showed that almost 80% of respondents antici- pate steady or improved market conditions over the next 12 months. At the same time, 40% reported an increase in quoting activity – lower than the 49% in the previous quarter’s survey. There was also a fall in


Q2 2023 Q3 2023 Q4 2023


Primary plastics machinery sales, US Source: CES, Plastics Industry Association


Q1 2024 Q2 2024


exports. In Q2 2024, total exports of plastics equip- ment declined by nearly 15% (to US$341m) com- pared to the previous quarter, while imports fell nearly 4% (to around US$857m) in the same period. Just over half of all exports went to Mexico and Canada. � www.plasticsindustry.org


M&As on the rise in plastics


Mergers and acquisitions in plastics have risen slightly in the first half of this year.


Investment firm PMCF


says it recorded 180 plastics-related M&A deals to the end of June 2024 – slightly ahead of the same period in 2023. It also recorded 30 deals in June alone. The increase was driven


by increased activity from strategic buyers, said the company.


Despite this slight


increase, activity will need to rise substantially to match the 205 deals recorded in the second half of 2023, said PMCF. “Overall, transaction activity has fallen from levels witnessed in the second half of last year as company performance has stagnated and interest rates remain elevated,” it added. The majority of the


deals were classed as ‘industrial’, said PMCF. � www.pmcf.com


Euromap 82 focuses on dosing and moulds


Euromap, the organisation that represents European plastics and rubber machinery manufacturers, is drafting new specifications for two types of peripheral device – dosing systems and moulds. It forms part of the Euromap 82


specification series for peripheral devices – based on the global production language OPC UA – being developed by the ‘plastics and rubber


8


machinery’ Joint Working Group. The specification will help to


standardise data exchange between machinery, helping to raise production efficiency and quality, says Euromap. The two latest drafts form Parts 4


and 5 of the series. As with earlier parts, the specifications cover param- eters for identification and configura- tion, automatic login of the machine user to peripheral devices as well as


PIPE & PROFILE EXTRUSION | Autumn 2024


the monitoring and control of process values. The Joint Working Group has already begun work on Part 6 – for granulate dryer devices. The draft is available for public inspection on Euromap’s website. The organisation encourages companies to participate in the working group – and invites comments on the draft before the end of October. � www.euromap.org


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