Plastics and rubber - Industry Overview

US Industrial Outlook, Annual, 1993 by Raimundo Prat

ENVIRONMENTAL PROFILE

Plastics waste constitutes less than one-tenth of total solid waste. However, questions surrounding the effect of plastics on the environment continue to put pressure on industry to develop new technologies and processes. The rate at which plastics are being substituted for other materials, particularly in areas of high visibility, has earned the industry what many perceive as an inordinate share of criticism. This is partly due to the fact that organized collection efforts on the part of industry and local jurisdictions have not yet succeeded in reaching their stated recycling rate objectives. Three types of plastic waste, however, have experienced recycling rates far above the norm: polyethylene terephthalate (commonly referred to as PET) soda bottles, HDPE (high-density polyethylene) materials, as well as polypropylene battery casings.

Outlook for 1993

Demand for commodity resins is expected to rise in response to improving economic conditions, especially in housing and construction. Overall constant-dollar shipments are expected to grow by 3 percent. Conspicuously high growth--in the range of 7-10 percent--is expected for engineering resins. This is partly because of a proliferation of end uses in both the automotive and aerospace sectors.

Long-Term Prospects

An ongoing trend toward highly differentiated resins for very specific uses will continue in the long-term. This trend is largely driven by new assembly and molding techniques coming on line in the automotive and electronics industries. There are signs that conventional thermoplastics used in future, automotive, garden products and fluid delivery systems will continue to be replaced by thermoplastic-elastomers, or TPEs. Demand for engineering resins, although still significant, may weaken as even lower-cost alternatives such as thermoplastic olefin elastomers (TPOs) gain acceptance.

PLASTIC PRODUCTS

SIC 308, or Miscellaneous Plastic Products, links together the output of the plastic processing sector. In 1987, products formerly classified in SIC 3079 (Miscellaneous Plastic Products) were reassigned to the new SIC 308. This section covers all but two four-digit SICs--3085 (Plastic Bottles) and 3088 (Plastic Plumbing Fixtures).

Once a suitable raw material--whether polymer or compound--is determined to fulfill particular end-use requirements, several processing methods may be used to fashion a finished product (Table 1). Each of the various methods is an indication of some general trends in final uses of plastic. While injection molding remains in widespread use because of its importance to automotive and manufacturing sectors, reaction injection molding, or RIM, has declined as a share of all processes.

Table 1: U.S. Plastics Processing by Method
(in percent)
Process                   Percent
Injection molding          33.6
Extrusion                  17.8
Thermotorming               9.9
Foam processing             9.5
Reinforced processing       8.9
Blow molding                8.5
Compression/transfer        4.7
Other                       7.1
Total                     100.0
(*) Includes rotational molding, calendering, and reaction molding (RIM).
SOURCE: Modern Plastics, 1991 Industry Survey.