PlasticsEurope reports a slowdown in the consumption growth rate

Plastics demand growth slowed to 1.9% in western Europe last year, according to PlasticsEurope, formerly known as APME. The region consumed 39.7m tonnes of plastics in 2003, an annual survey of consumption and recovery showed. Between 2001 and 2002, demand grew at a rate of 3.7%.

PlasticsEurope said 2003 was a challenging year with the Iraq war and a global economic downturn. But it said the industry “remains relatively robust” and the outlook for 2004 is more positive. The automotive sector provided the strongest performance in 2003, with consumption of plastics increasing by 5.7%. Consumption in packaging was unchanged, accounting for 37% of all plastics demand, according to the PlasticsEurope estimates.

The country breakdown for 2002, the latest figures available, shows Germany in the lead with 10.9m tonnes of consumption by plastics processors. It is followed by Italy (7.0m tonnes), France (4.6m tonnes) and the UK (4.0m tonnes).

Analysis of the new EU member states, plus Bulgaria and Romania, estimates consumption at 4.3m tonnes in 2002. Poland is by far the largest consumer, at 1.7m tonnes, followed by Czech Republic (0.7m tonnes) and Hungary (0.6m tonnes).