Market Data
Is help on the way?
This month sees the inauguration of Barack Obama, who takes the helm at a critical moment and faces a daunting set of challenges. As the global economic outlook continues to sour, what does the future hold for American processors as a new leader charts a new course?
Industry downturn by the numbers, and where demand growth will come
For the record, the downturn that slammed the plastics industry starting in about mid-2008 and proceeding through mid-2009 was the first period since 1950 when the plastics industry saw a dramatic drop in consumption of resin globally. Until then, average annual demand growth had been 9%/year, according to figures presented yesterday by officials working for PlasticsEurope, the trade group representing Europe's plastics suppliers.
U.S. manufacturing up in February for seventh consecutive month
Even though manufacturing activity at U.S. firms slowed up a bit compared with January, the latest data from the Institute for Supply Management (ISM; Tempe, AZ) showed February was the seventh successive positive month. The hope is that the activity will filter into other sectors; the fear is that current activity may be largely due to replacement of depleted inventories.
Solar: A bright future
The amount of solar energy that falls on the planet in one hour is enough to generate sufficient power for every person on earth for one year.
Chinaplas preview: The way forward for the world’s second-largest economy
As Chinaplas opens in Shanghai this April, China will more than likely be celebrating its impending emergence as the world’s second-largest economy after the United States, expecting to have edged slightly ahead of Japan when the final 2009 GDP numbers come in.
Gerresheimer develops fifth-generation blood sugar monitoring device
Working on behalf of an unnamed diagnostics company that it has collaborated with for 18 years, contract manufacturer/molder Gerresheimer Regensburg developed lancing devices for a multi-use blood sugar monitoring system, and now molds 19 parts and performs final assembly of the user-friendly device.
North American plastics processors survey: Size and success not linked
Commenting this week on his company’s annual North American Plastics Industry Study, Jeff Mengel, who heads the Plastics Practice at the CPA/business consulting firm Plante & Moran, underlined how the study’s results show little to no correlation between success and size among plastics processing companies. And that’s not the only exception to conventional wisdom.
Italy’s plastics industry sees improvement ahead
Italy's plastics processing machinery manufacturers expect an upturn in the first half of 2010, and it's one they could certainly use after last year's slide. In figures provided by Assocomoplast, the trade group representing about 160 of the country's leading suppliers of processing machinery and molds, total production fell last year by about 25% compared to 2008, with the drop in sales also hitting about 25% for both the export and domestic markets.
“It doesn’t matter what the FDA says”
About Bisphenol A, that is. Not surprisingly, the person quoted in this Washington Post article didn't want his name or company (a major food processor) attached to the quote. The article is on the difficulty food processors have finding an alternative to Bisphenol A (BPa) to use for lining cans.
New Indian polyolefins supplier plans a million-tonne entry
Formed in 2006 but now taking more concrete shape, a new supplier of polypropylene and polyethylene, ONGC Petro additions Ltd. (OPaL), has taken a license to use production polymerization technology from Ineos Technologies for its new PP and PE plants.
