European plastics machinery volumes nudge record levels

Production volumes by European manufacturers of core plastics and rubber processing machinery increased by 27.3% to €9.78bn in 2010, according to Euromap, the organisation which represents the machinery companies.

It forecasts a growth rate of 10% this year, which would take 2011 production to approximately €0.80bn, close to the record year of 2008.

European core machinery exports were €7.03bn in 2010, 23.9% higher than in 2009, when the plastics market slumped in the global recession.

The encouraging figures were presented at Euromap's triennial General Assembly taking place in Munich yesterday and today. Euromap says the trend in 2012 will be for new order income to fall back, but sales to be stable due partly to a favourable order backlog that has built up.

Euromap president Bernhard Merki said: "Looking at new incoming order curves between 2008 and 2011 highlights just how much of a roller coaster ride this has been", explained."

China has been the main driver of demand in 2010 and 2011 and is becoming a major power in machinery production. Euromap estimates global core machinery production was €23.35bn in 2010, with the share of machinery companies based in China rising to 29.3% from 23.5% in 2009.

Euromap countries' share of world volumes slipped from 45.4% in 2009 to 41.9% in 2010. The US share also fell from 6.5% in 2009 to 5.4% in 2010, according to Euromap. But Japan’s machine makers benefited from the Asian upturn in 2010, increasing their share of global volumes to 5.4% from 4.1% in 2009.

In terms of exports to China in 2010, Germany maintained a similar share of the Chinese market at 28.4%. But China's neighbours benefited most from the country's rising demand, with the 2010 market share increasing to 27.9% (from 25.0% in 2009) for Japanese exports, 12.0% (8.5%) for Taiwanese exports, and 5.9% (5.7%) for South Korean exports.

China is also fast ascending the table of world machinery exporters, passing Italy into third place for the first time in 2010.

Euromap estimates world core machinery exports were ?4.00bn in 2010. Germany is still the world's biggest exporter with a 23.7% market share in 2010 (down from 24.6% in 2009), followed by Japan 13.1% (10.8%), China 10.6% (9.1%), Italy 9.6% (11.3%) and USA 6.7% (7.5%).

Luciano Anceschi, Euromap's new vice-president, said an asset for machinery manufacturers in Europe is the energy-saving technology they have developed.

He said: "There is a genuine global trend towards more sustainability. Saving energy as well as protecting resources is playing an increasingly important and pivotal role not only in Europe but in all major economic areas across the world."

This facet of European plastics and rubber machinery lent support to Euromap's announcement this month that it has endorsed the EU Commission's objective to cut European energy consumption by 20% by 2020.