The Perc Report is released on the first business day of each month. It includes monthly highlights on the most recent economic and plastics industry data along with recent activities, articles, and blogs you may have missed.
Economic Data
The Industrial Production Index – a monthly economic indicator measuring real output in manufacturing, mining, electric, and gas industries – rose 0.3% in June and 0.7% year-over-year, following two months of virtually no change.
Softness in the housing market continues, as evidenced by a 6.6% year-over-year decline in new single-family home sales in June, and a 0.5% decrease in housing starts in June following a 4.0% drop in May.
The Industrial Production Index for motor vehicles and parts fell 2.6% in June and was down 2.2% from a year ago.
Sales of automobiles and light trucks declined for the third consecutive month, reaching an annualized rate of 15.3 million units in June—down from the 17.8 million-unit high in March.
The New York Fed’s Global Supply Chain Pressure Index (GSCPI)—which tracks supply chain conditions using data from the transportation and manufacturing sectors—held at 0.0 in June, indicating pressures are at their long-run average despite ongoing uncertainty around U.S. tariffs.
Plastics Demand Estimate
U.S. plastics demand was estimated at $22.4 billion in May, down 1.3% from April and 2.2% lower compared to May last year.
To access the most recent Plastics Demand Estimate, click here.
Plastics Industry Data
Plastic products manufacturing continued its decline for the third consecutive month – decreasing 0.6% in June following the 0.4% and 0.1% declines in April and May, respectively.
Plastic materials and resin production on the other hand rose 5.0% in June – recovering from the 4.0% decline in April and 0.9% decrease in May.
Wage growth continued in U.S. plastics and rubber products manufacturing with the average hourly earnings by 3.8% in June, year-over-year.
The Producer Price Index on plastics packaging decreased by 0.1% in June from May but increased 0.6% from June last year.
Inflation-adjusted food and beverage consumption decreased by 0.3% in May from the previous month but was up 1.4% compared to May of last year. Consumption totaled $1.18 trillion in May—a key data point for plastics packaging in the food and beverage sector.
Access the most up-to-date data on the plastics industry
The PLASTICS website is now releasing the latest building and construction data in an interactive format. Manufacturing construction activity is a critical indicator of the plastics industry's direction, as manufacturing remains the industry's primary customer.
