Sales growth continues for US packing machinery companies

Packing machinery sales in the US are forecast to increase by seven per cent this year to an estimated $5.91 billion (€4.7 billion), with the upturn in the economy and the need to replace aging equipment helping to consolidate a fourth year of growth, says a major industry organisation.

Packing machinery sales in the US are forecast to increase by seven per cent this year to an estimated $5.91 billion (€4.7 billion), with the upturn in the economy and the need to replace aging equipment helping to consolidate a fourth year of growth, says a major industry organisation. While the continued health of the US economy and expanding manufacturers’ production capacity are the key drivers behind the forecast growth, executives also cited the need to replace older machines as another important factor, the Packaging Machinery Manufacturers Institute (PMMI) said yesterday. The largest increase in spending is predicted to come from the pharmaceutical and medical segment (11 to 13 per cent) followed by beverages (9 to 11 per cent), personal care products (seven to nine per cent), food (six to eight per cent) and converters, printers all other (three to five per cent). Capacity use, a measure of how much a plant’s production is being employed, remains a key determinant in the demand for packaging equipment and has been rising throughout much of the market, the PMMI said. As of February 2005, the capacity use for non-durable products manufacturing was 80.3 per cent, up from 77.3 per cent in January of 2004. Non-durables are responsible for the bulk of the packaging machinery market.