North American packaging machinery shipments soar

United States packaging machinery shipments reached $5.344 billion in 2004, a 9.3 per cent increase from the $4.889 billion in equipment shipped in 2003, according to Packaging Machinery Manufacturers Institute's (PMMI) 11th Annual Shipments and Outlook Study.
All 17 of the machinery categories that PMMI tracked in its annual review experienced growth in 2004. Double digit growth was experienced in seven out of the 17 categories, including converting machinery 24.6 per cent, skin and blister packaging machinery 23.8 per cent, filling machinery, liquid products 22.8 per cent, labeling machinery 22.0 per cent, capping, overcapping, lidding, sealing machinery 13.8 per cent, form/fill/seal machinery bag/pouch 11.1 per cent and palletizing, depalletizing and pallet unitizing machinery 11.1 per cent.
In addition, exports of US-made packaging machinery increased by 12.5 per cent to $1.071 billion over the $952 million shipped in 2003. US domestic market demand, which includes domestic consumption including import figures, increased by 9.8 per cent with $5.604 billion consumed in the U.S. market.  Domestic shipments were up 8.5 per cent to $4.273 billion and imports to the US increased 14.2 per cent, to $1.331 billion. Canadian packaging machinery shipments grew 8.4 per cent in 2004 to an estimated C$420.6 million (US$323.7 million).
‘With growth across the board, 2004 was clearly a year that consumer goods companies focused on capital equipment as a means to achieve operational efficiencies and increase productivity,’ noted Charles D. Yuska, president of PMMI. ‘In 11 years of tracking machinery shipments, PMMI has never seen such a strong pattern of growth across all segments and for both US and Canadian markets.’
The results of this year's Shipments and Outlook Study show promise for the future of the industry. US shipments of packaging machinery are forecasted to grow at a cumulative annual rate of 3.8 per cent over the next three years, from an estimated $5.244 billion in 2004 to $5.982 billion by 2007. By the same token, Canadian shipments of packaging machinery are forecasted to grow at an average annual rate of 3.9 per cent, from C$421 million to C$472 million by 2007.