Apparent U.S.consumption of plastics goods grew in 2017,even as the industry's trade surplus declined by nearly $2 billion.The increase in consumption-a measure of overall demand that Includes domestic shipments,minus exports,plus imports-was 6 percent,according to the annual Global Trends report,released Oct.31 at the 2018 Global Plastics Summit in Chicago.The report,which analyzes trade data from 2017,”paints a complex and ultimately positive portrait”of the U.S.plastics industry,according to the Washington-based Plastics Industry Association.The 2018 report”again shows that the U.S.plastics industry continues to innovate its way into new applications and new markets where even more consumers The U.S.plastics industry's $2.9 billion surplus for 2017 was down from the $4.8 billion surplus posted in 2016.The 2015 surplus had been $7.1 billion.Officials said the 2017 decline was the result of a 9 percent increase in plastics-related imports,which they described as”another sign of strong demand”in the United States.As in previous years,the resin sector accounted for the entirety of the U.S.plastics industry's trade surplus.Resin had a surplus of $17.4 billion in 2017;plastics products had a deficit of $10.9 billion;mold making had a deficit of $1.5 billion,and machinery had a deficit of $2 billion.
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