The Perc Report includes monthly highlights on the most up-to-date plastics industry economic data, along with recent activities, articles, and blogs which you may have missed.
The Perc Report includes monthly highlights on the most up-to-date plastics industry economic data, along with recent activities, articles, and blogs which you may have missed.
There were 818,000 fewer jobs added in the U.S. from April 2023 through March 2024, indicating that the labor market has not been as robust as previously reported.
Headline inflation was 2.9% in July, while core inflation, which excludes food and energy prices, was 3.2%. Prices continued to increase but at a lower rate compared to previous months.
Weekly mortgage applications fell by 10.1% the week ending August 16th from the previous week. The 30-year fixed-rate home mortgage average fell to 6.5% on the week of August 22, 2024.
U.S. household debt rose by $109 billion in the second quarter of 2024 to $17.8 trillion. The personal savings rate fell to 3.4% in June, down from 4.8% in June last year.
The total value of business inventories increased by $8.7 billion in June after a $12.6 billion rise in May, making June’s inventories $52.5 billion higher than June last year.
Plastics demand rose 3.7% in June to $22.8 billion. Monthly estimates of plastics product demand, provided by PLASTICS, can be downloaded here.
U.S. plastics machinery total exports to USMCA trade partners totaled $374 million year-to-date through June, unchanged from last year. Exports to Canada rose 9.8%, while exports to Mexico decreased 7.1% compared to the same period last year.
The unemployment rate in plastics and rubber products manufacturing dropped to 3.0% in July, down from 5.2% in June.
Average weekly hours in plastics and rubber products manufacturing increased to 41.3 in July from 40.7 in June.
The Producer Price Index for custom compounding of purchased resin fell for the second consecutive month, decreasing by 0.7% in July after a 0.5% decline in June. Year-over-year, the index rose 1.2% in June and 1.8% in July.
July Industrial Production Indices and Capacity Utilization rates for the plastics industry are now available on PLASTICS’ website. New data on the medical and healthcare market will be released in the coming week. PLASTICS industry data covers 87+ datasets for easy access to members.
