Last year proved to be even weaker than expected for the European Union's plastics converting industry, according to Brussels-based representative body EuPC. This mostly resulted from a slump in the German economy and a recession in the construction sector.Building products experienced a particularly hard year although construction product sales were relatively good in parts of Europe - especially France and Spain. The impact of the 'global' financial crisis was also important, with decreased investment in new capacity throughout the manufacturing sector. Another factor was the weakening in consumer confidence.
The U.K. provided something of an exception but, even here, stronger demand for plastics goods was more than offset by a lack of competitiveness due to the high value of sterling.
With the exception of construction goods, plastics converting industry orders showed an increase in the second half of 2002. This improvement in demand was particularly pronounced for packaging goods, thereby signalling an upturn in consumer demand.
The automotive industry appears to be in temporary decline given the reduction in private car registrations, although this has not translated to date into lower demand for sub-contractors. Furthermore, car makers are targeting higher production from the second half of 2003.
EuPC expects a difficult 2003 with overall 1.6% growth in the total EU plastics converting industry.
EuPC embraces upwards of 50 plastics processing associations across Europe. The organisation represents over 37 000 predominantly medium-sized plastics processing companies. Its members have a combined processing capacity of more than 35 million tonnes of plastics per annum and yearly sales of over € 130 billion.
Acknowledgement
For more information: www.eupc.org
