By Lynne Sherwin
The U.S. plastics industry accounted for just over 1 million jobs and $519.1 billion in shipments in 2023, according to the Plastics Industry Association’s (PLASTICS) annual Size and Impact report, released Thursday.
When suppliers to the industry are added in, those numbers increase to 1.55 million jobs and $658.2 billion in shipments, the report said.
According to U.S. government data, 399 plastics machinery establishments employed 12,200 people, producing a shipment value of $4.7 billion; 629 molds establishments employed 15,000 people with a shipment value of $3.7 billion; and 10,196 plastics products manufacturers employed 664,200 people, with a shipment value of nearly $272 billion.
Plastics manufacturing employment grew 1.1 percent per year from 2013 to 2023, outpacing the 0.7 percent growth rate in total manufacturing. Measured by gross output, the plastic products portion of the industry was the eighth-largest U.S. industry in 2022 (the latest year for which data are available).
“This report shows the plastics industry remains vital to our economy as a job creator and a source of innovation,” PLASTICS President and CEO Matt Seaholm said in a statement. “Our industry will continue to grow as part of the circular economy, finding innovative ways to make plastic better and more sustainable.”
The report predicts a 1.3 percent increase in plastics industry shipments in 2023, and 1.6 percent for 2025. The skilled labor supply will remain a headwind, contributing to an anticipated contraction of 0.2 percent in employment in 2024, before a potential increase of 0.9 percent in 2025.
Capital expenditures declined 12.1 percent in 2023 from 2022, due mainly to high interest rates, said PLASTICS Chief Economist Perc Pineda in a press conference Thursday, although they rose slightly over the five- and 10-year period.
“It's no secret that the U.S. has been experiencing an interest rate-driven manufacturing slump,” Pineda said, adding that risk aversion also increases when interest rates are high, and that the excess of cash after the pandemic fueled an increase in capital expenditures in 2021 and 2022.
Shipments of plastics machinery declined in the first quarter and second quarter of 2024 after remaining fairly steady in 2023, according to reports from PLASTICS’ Committee on Equipment Statistics.
Uncertainty over whether interest rates will drop further in the next six months could mean some companies keep capital expenditures on hold, Pineda said.
