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 U.S. economy grew by 1.6% in Q1-2024, lower than projected, following the 3.4% increase in Q4 2023.
Personal Consumption Expenditures slowed to 2.5% in Q1-2024 with durable goods experiencing a 0.4% decline and nondurable goods experiencing a 1.2% decline.
Business investment spending on structures decreased by 0.1% in Q1-2024, while investment spending on equipment increased by 2.1%.
Monthly retail sales rose by 0.7% in March to $613.0 billion. Compared to a year earlier, retail sales increased 3.9%.
Core inflation, based on the Personal Consumption Expenditure price index excluding food and energy, remained at 2.8% in March and February. Consequently, the likelihood of the Federal Reserve initiating rate cuts soon has diminished.
The global price of energy has continued its descent since January 2023 with the year-on-year change in the Global Price of Energy Index down 3.3%.
Unemployment in plastics and rubber products manufacturing decreased to 1.9% in April, following a 2.1% rate in March.
Plastics and rubber products shipments saw a modest improvement in February, rising by $43 million from January.
After ten consecutive months of decline, manufacturers’ total inventories of plastics and rubber experienced a 0.2% uptick in February.
Preliminary data shows the U.S. plastics industry trade surplus soared to $1.1 billion in 2023, with a trade surplus in resin reaching $23.7 billion. The World Trade Organization now projects a 2.6% growth in the volume of merchandise trade this year.
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