Highlights of the Plastic Global Trends report

lU.S. plastics industry exports rose 11.8 percent and imports rose 7.2 percent. The overall plastics trade deficit fell to $7.4 billion in 2022 from $10.0 billion in 2021 as the global economy continued to recover from the pandemic in 2020.

lAccording to Global Trends, the apparent consumption of plastics industry goods in the U.S., an indicator of demand, increased 13.7 percent to $393.3 billion, up from $345.9 billion in 2021, which underscores the benefits that plastics and plastics products have on the economy.

lGlobal plastics trade volume is estimated to have reached $1.7 trillion with China, the United States, and Germany ranked the top three players in the global plastics trade, based on PLASTICS' annual Global Plastics Ranking.

lThe U.S. plastics industry had its largest trade surplus with Mexico of $11 billion, followed by Belgium ($2.9 billion), Brazil ($2.4 billion), the Netherlands ($881 million), and Singapore ($854 million).

lThe trade connections among the U.S., Mexico, and Canada are robust and deeply embedded, largely owing to the United States-Mexico-Canada Free Trade Agreement. These three nations stand out as key trade partners across the entire spectrum of the plastics industry, evident from the substantial $258.8 billion trade volume in resin and plastics products in 2022," said Pineda.

lThe Global Trends report and its dataset provide an account of U.S. plastics exports and imports worldwide in each of the four categories of the plastics industry: resin, products, machinery, and moulds.