Plastics Report: Softer Shipments

The Plastics Industry Association Committee on Equipment Statistics (CES) released its second-quarter 2026 report, showing softer shipment activity alongside stronger new orders and broader growth in U.S. equipment investment.

Since 1937, The Plastics Industry Association has been working to make its members, and the eighth largest U.S. manufacturing industry, more globally competitive.

Primary plastics machinery shipments totaled an estimated $235.8 million in Q2. While shipments remained soft, stronger new orders and increased U.S. equipment investment point to a strengthening pipeline for machinery demand.

The report also found:

• Twin-screw extrusion machinery shipments increased 25.4% from Q1.
• 39% of CES survey respondents expect market conditions to improve over the next 12 months.
• U.S. plastics machinery exports totaled $755.8 million in Q2, generating a $480.3 million trade surplus, a 24.1% increase from a year earlier.

“The combination of strong industrial equipment orders and modest shipments could be interpreted as a sign of strengthening pipeline demand rather than immediate weakness in market conditions. The lag between orders and shipments helps explain the softer shipment numbers,” said Perc Pineda, Ph.D., Chief Economist at the Plastics Industry Association.

The continued weakness in shipments primarily reflects the normal lag between new orders and
deliveries for capital equipment.