United States Engineering Plastics Industry: A Profile

摘要

The engineering plastics industry is presently a small segment of the plastics materials industry. Its importance lies in its potential. Shipments in the market have been growing for the last 4 years at an estimated rate of 12 percent annually, and growth over the next 5 years at a rate of 8 to 10 percent per year is expected. The materials this report will examine represent only a few of the major engineering plastics resins in the marketplace. They are, however, typical examples, and the observations and conclusions of the report can be applied to the entire engineering plastics industry. The report does not attempt to cover the area of composites reinforced plastics, or alloys and blends, although they can be mentioned in passing. In general, reinforced plastics/composites combine extremely strong, stiff fibers (usually carbon, glass, or boron) with conventional polymers, ceramics or metals.