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.
Retail and food services sales witnessed a modest 0.1% uptick in May following a 0.2% down-tick in April. From a year earlier, retail sales increased by 2.3%.
Electronics and appliances retailers experienced weaker monthly sales growth of 0.4% in May, following April’s 2.5% increase.
The Industrial Production Index for medical equipment and supplies manufacturing fell for the third consecutive month. It decreased by 2.0% in May month-over-month (M/M) but increased by 2.6% year-over-year (Y/Y).
Automobile and light truck production in North America increased by 1.7% in May Y/Y. In the first five months of the year, output rose by 5.9% due to an 8.2% increase in light truck manufacturing, despite a 3.4% decrease in automobile production.
Businesses expect sales revenue growth in the next four quarters to increase by 4.1%, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta’s Survey of Business Uncertainty.
The Industrial Production Index for plastics product manufacturing increased by 0.7% in May M/M, marking the fourth consecutive month of growth.
The unemployment rate in plastics and rubber products manufacturing was 0.4% in May, down from 1.9% in April.
The Producer Price Index for plastics product manufacturing exhibited a 0.1% decrease in May for both M/M and Y/Y.
Finished goods inventories for plastics and rubber products manufacturers decreased by 4.1% in April Y/Y, while overall inventories decreased by 2.4% Y/Y.
U.S. imports of plastics products from China totaled $1.3 billion in April, a 0.4% increase from March but a 7.7% decrease from April last year.
