USA Plastic Machinery Shipment Suspended In 1st Quarter Due To Corona-virus

USA Plastic Machinery Shipment Suspended In 1st Quarter Due To Corona-virus

According to data compiled and reported by the CES of the American Plastics Industry Association, shipments of major plastic machinery including injection molding and extrusion equipment in North America declined in the first quarter.

The total export of plastic machinery in the first quarter was 538.5 million US dollars, an increase of 1.6% from the previous quarter. Imports increased by 0.5% to 746.3 million US dollars, and the trade deficit was 387.8 million US dollars, down 0.6% from the fourth quarter of last year. The United States continues to rely on Mexico and Canada as its first and second largest plastic machinery export markets. Total exports to USMCA's trading partners were US $ 153.4 million, accounting for 42.9% of total US plastic machinery exports.

The initial estimate of shipment value from the reporting company totaled $ 254 million in the first quarter, which was a decrease of 19.6% after an increase of 7.7% in the fourth quarter of last year. The report said that the first quarter of plastic machinery shipments fell by 6.9% compared with the same period last year.

Single screw extruder shipments rise

While total shipments fell in the first quarter, single-screw extruder shipments rose by 15.5%. Shipment volume of twin-screw extruders decreased slightly by 0.8%. Compared with the first quarter of 2019, the value of single-screw and twin-screw extruders increased significantly by 34.9% and 19.3%, respectively. However, shipments of injection molding equipment fell 23.6% from the previous quarter and 11.8% from the same period last year.

"Due to the discontinuation of production due to the coronavirus in March, shipments in the first quarter are expected to decline. Nonetheless, we are still seeing a strong year-on-year increase in single screw and twin screw shipments," Perc Pineda, chief economist for plastic The doctor said.

CES also conducted quarterly surveys of plastics machinery suppliers on current market conditions and future expectations. In the next quarter, 18.5% of the respondents expect economic conditions to improve or remain stable, down from 69.4% in the fourth quarter of last year. As for the next 12 months, 22.6% of respondents expect market conditions to stabilize or even improve, lower than the 73.5% surveyed in the previous quarter.

Milacron reports revenue decline

In other plastic machinery news, Hillenbrand reported on May 7 that Milacron ’s revenue from Hillenbrand was US $ 199 million, a year-on-year decrease of 20%. The reason was that injection molding equipment and hot runner systems Weak performance in some markets, including the automotive market. The impact of the epidemic has further exacerbated demand pressure. Milacron accounts for 39% of Hillenbrand's business revenue; revenue by region shows that the Americas region accounts for 54%.

Due to the decrease in orders for injection molding and extrusion equipment, the backlog was US $ 187 million, a decrease of 17% year-on-year; but the backlog of hot runner systems and injection molding equipment continued to increase by 28%.

Hillenbrand said in Milacron ’s business update that orders for injection molding and extrusion equipment both showed continuous growth in the second fiscal quarter, but growth momentum slowed in March and continued to decline in April. The order rate of the hot runner system improved in March and April compared with January and February, because the Chinese government's shutdown policy has been relaxed or cancelled. Due to the epidemic, the demand for medical and pharmaceutical projects has increased. The company said it continued to focus on freely controllable costs.

Business is very difficult this year, especially for trade.