Extrusion International USA 2-2019

26 Extrusion International 2/2019 EXTRUSION INTERNATIONAL INDUSTRY NEWS The primary plastics machinery (injection molding and ex- trusion) in North America increased in the fourth quarter ac- cording to the statistics compiled and reported by the Plastics Industry Association’s (PLASTICS) Committee on Equipment Statistics (CES). The preliminary estimate of shipments value from reporting companies totaled $376.9 million – an 8.0 percent increase from the third quarter. Injection molding shipments rose 8.8 percent and single- and twin-extrusion equipment ship- ments increased 4.6 percent and 1.5 percent, respectively. Comparing the fourth quarter 2018 shipments to the fourth quarter 2017, the value of single- and twin-extrusion equip- ment shipments rose by an impressive 33.7 percent and 52.0 percent, respectively. However, injection molding shipments value was 4.9 percent lower over the same period. “We projected higher shipments for the fourth quarter and that’s exactly what transpired,” according to Perc Pineda, PhD, Chief Economist of PLASTICS. “The increase is not due to in- flationary pressures of the economy, which one tends to think about when dollar value increases, but purely an increase in the quantity of shipments. The unit shipments of injection molding rose 2.7 percent. Single-screw and twin-screw extruders ship- ments increased 5.6 percent and 16.1 percent, respectively. All told, quantity of shipments of primary plastics machinery in- creased by 3.8 percent from the third quarter,” Pineda added. The CES also conducts a quarterly survey of plastics machin- ery suppliers that asks about present market conditions and expectation for the future. In the coming quarter, 75 percent of the respondents expect conditions to either improve or hold steady. As for the next 12 months, 67 percent expect the market to be steady-to-better. PLASTICS Committee on Equipment Statistics (CES) Plastics Industry Association plasticsindustry.org There was consensus from the survey of plastics machinery suppliers that Latin America and Mexico are growing export markets for machineries. The ongoing U.S. trade tensions with China remains to be a concern and sputtering economic performance in most of Europe caused a dimmer market outlook in the fourth quarter in both export markets. As for the major end-markets, the respondents to the fourth quarter survey expect that medical and packaging will re- main strong in terms of demand for plastics products and equipment. Plastics Machinery Shipments Finished Strong in 2018 First Responder Phone Number launched Davis-Standard announced customers worldwide can now take advantage of a new 24/7 First Responder phone number 844-MYDAVIS (844-693-2847). This central point of contact Davis-Standard, LLC www.davis-standard.com reflects Davis-Standard’s continued commitment to Compre- hensive 360 Support of the global customers with technical, personalized and timely responses to all service inquiries. By calling this number, customers can reach the global sup- port centers 24 hours a day to identify and quickly facilitate their requests. In addition, translation services are available in English, German, French, Spanish, Finnish and Mandarin. “Implementing 844-MYDAVIS is an important step in sup- porting our global customers with the sense of urgency needed to keep their production schedules without delay,” said Jim Murphy, President and CEO of Davis-Standard.