Plastics production is expected to show slow growth in European countries

Plastics production is expected to show slow growth in European countries this year, according to a study by Oxford Economic Forecasting (OEF).

Citing the OEF study at last week’s Kunststofftage conference in Dьsseldorf, Gerd Liebig, chief strategic marketing officer at Demag Plastics Group (DPG), indicated production growth in Germany of less than 0.5% in 2005 compared with more than 2.5% in 2004. Production should grow by almost 3% in 2006.

The situation in Italy is far worse, with OEF expecting production this year to fall by nearly 2%. It expects positive growth to return in 2006, at slightly over 2%. Liebig said in an interview with PRW.com that the Italian market for injection moulding machines is down around 30% in 2005 against 2004. There has been a decline in the number of companies moulding in Italy, as many have shifted production to Romania and neighbouring Slovenia.

Liebig also said that Chinese injection moulding machinery maker Haitian has gained a 20% share of the Italian market after opening an assembly plant in Brescia. The OEF study said plastics production growth will also slow down in France this year, before it recovers in 2006. However, Spain shows increasing production growth, from around 1.5% in 2004, to about 2.5% in 2005 and a forecast of 4% in 2006.