U.S. Plastics Industry Shows Resilience Amid Trade Tensions in 2025

Mixed trade outlook for plastics US Plastics industry shows resilience amid tariffs and trade pressure

2025-08-18 Source: Plastics Industry Association 2 min Reading Time

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The U.S. plastics industry posted a 3.5 percent rise in shipments in the first half of 2025, signaling resilience amid trade tensions and high tariffs. While imports and exports show mixed results, steady quoting activity and a rebound in GDP suggest cautious optimism for the months ahead.

The U.S. plastics industry posted shipment growth in Q2 2025, showing resilience despite tariffs and mixed trade results.(Source: Plastics) — The U.S. plastics industry posted shipment growth in Q2 2025, showing resilience despite tariffs and mixed trade results.
(Source: Plastics)

The US Plastics Industry Association (Plastics) has published the Committee on Equipment Statistics (CES) report for the Second Quarter of 2025, authored by Chief Economist Dr. Perc Pineda. Despite ongoing uncertainty in global trade policy, the report reveals growth in shipment data compared to both the previous quarter and the same period in 2024.

“Shipments stopped falling in the second quarter. In fact, comparing the first half of 2025 to the same period in 2024, shipments increased by 3.5 percent. It seems the plastics industry had a better handle on ongoing trade and tariff challenges across the value chain in the second quarter compared to the first,” said Plastics Chief Economist Perc Pineda, PhD.

Still, high tariff rates remain a concern. “If the overarching goal is to strengthen U.S. manufacturing competitiveness — a goal the plastics industry fully supports — then, in the short term, the industry should be able to import production inputs and equipment no longer made in the U.S. at lower tariff rates,” Pineda added.

On U.S. plastics machinery trade, imports fell 7.9 percent in the second quarter but rose 1.9 percent compared to the same period last year. Total exports, on the other hand, increased 0.4 percent from the previous quarter but declined 4.3 percent year-over-year.

In the second-quarter survey of CES members, 58 percent of respondents expected market conditions to remain steady or improve over the next 12 months — down from 62 percent in the previous quarter. However, the share reporting that quoting activity held steady or improved rose from 65 percent to 76 percent. Pineda noted: “The advance estimate of U.S. real GDP showed a 3.0 percent increase in the second quarter, rebounding from the 0.5 percent decline in the previous quarter. This growth was largely driven by a sharp drop in imports, which are subtracted in the calculation of domestic output. However, the broad-based increase in household spending — across durable goods, nondurable goods, and services — also points to room for growth in plastics manufacturing, particularly as imports decline.”

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Date: 08.12.2025

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