NEWS
US machinery sales see ‘soft start’ in 2026
US plastics machinery sales rose more than 8% in the first quarter of the year – but were down compared to the final quarter of 2025. The Plastics Industry
Association’s Committee on Equipment Statistics (CES) estimated sales in Q1 2026 at nearly US$274 million – up 8.5% on Q1 2025, but down 16.4% on Q4 2025. The dip compared to the final quarter of last year reflects two factors, said the association. “First-quarter shipments
are usually lower than fourth-quarter shipments, as business momentum tends to slow following a busy final quarter of the year,” said Perc Pineda, chief economist at the associa- tion. “This also explains why shipments remained higher than a year earlier. We have seen this pattern consist- ently over time.”
Despite higher tariffs,
sales rose in the second half of 2025. Previous market adjustments probably came
350 300 250 200 150 100 50 0
Q1 2025 Q2 2025 Q3 2025 Q4 2025 Q1 2026
Primary plastics machinery sales, US Source: CES, Plastics Industry Association
at a cost to businesses, said the association – meaning many were unable to pass higher costs on to custom- ers due to existing contracts. “At the turn of 2026, businesses likely adjusted their pricing contracts to reflect higher tariff costs – which is a second reason why plastics equipment ship- ments reversed by double digits,” Pineda added. The value of imports totalled US$930m in the first quarter, down nearly 2% from Q1 2025. Calculated duties, however, more than tripled to nearly US$119m.
In CES’ Q1 survey, member optimism fell. Those expecting deteriora- tion in the next quarter rose from 13% to 20%, while those expecting an improve- ment in the next 12 months fell from 39% to 29%. Sales fell across all types
of primary plastics machin- ery. Twin-screw extrusion saw the largest decline, falling 51% from the previous quarter and 53% year-on-year. At the same time, single-screw extrusion sales fell 24% from Q4 2025 and 26% year-on-year. �
www.plasticsindustry.org
Nelipack’s Singapore tech centre
Healthcare packaging specialist Nelipak has opened a technical centre in Singapore.
Nelipak says the new facility will combine its flex- ible and rigid sterile barrier packaging design. It supports the develop-
ment of Nelipak’s range of custom-designed sterile- barrier packaging solu- tions in both flexible and rigid formats. Its capabili- ties are also designed to support ISO 11607-compli- ant development, risk mitigation and accelerated commercialization for medical and pharmaceuti- cal devices.
“Our goal with this
centre is simple,” said Aldin Velic, vice president for Asia-Pacific at Nelipak. “Customers walk in with a device and a packaging challenge, and leave with an engineered packaging solution, prototype samples and a path to development.” �
www.nelipak.com
NatureWorks opens PLA plant in Thailand
NatureWorks has opened a 75,000 tonnes/year PLA manu- facturing plant in Thailand. It says this makes it the first company to have more than one PLA production site – add- ing to its existing facility in Nebraska, USA. The new plant, at the Nakhon Sawan BioComplex in
Thailand, brings together production of lactic acid – derived from locally sourced sugarcane – lactide monomer and PLA polymer in a single place. It is designed to produce the full portfolio of Ingeo grades. “We are taking a major step in scaling access to Ingeo biopolymers globally,” said Erik Ripple, CEO of NatureWorks. �
www.natureworksllc.com
6 FILM & SHEET EXTRUSION | May/June 2026
www.filmandsheet.com
IMAGE: NATUREWORKS
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