Packaging machinery shipments in the United States reached US$6.110 billion in 2006, a six per cent increase from 2005, according to a study released by the Packaging Machinery Manufacturers Institute (PMMI) trade association.

The report, entitled the 2007 Shipments and Outlook Study, also noted that this marks the fifth consecutive year of industry growth since 2001, and the first time packaging machinery shipments have surpassed $6 billion.

Sixteen of the seventeen machinery categories that PMMI monitored in the report experienced growth in 2006. Two categories enjoyed double-digit growth: wrapping (+18.6 per cent); and capping, overcapping, lidding and sealing machinery (+11.2 per cent).

Converting machinery was the sole machinery category to experience a decline, down 0.6 per cent from 2005.

The report identified several growth factors for 2006, including increased focus by U.S. companies on manufacturing/packaging cost reduction and productivity improvement; continued strong cash positions among U.S. corporations; increased need for highly flexible packaging machinery to accommodate shorter packaging runs; greater demand for turnkey packaging system projects; and demand for machinery upgrades due to packaging format changes to support consumer marketing efforts.

“U.S. domestic demand for packing machinery has been particularly strong for the past three years,” said Charles D. Yuska, president and CEO of PMMI. “While things have slowed in 2007, capacity levels remain high, and we expect consumer goods companies to continue their past buying patterns at slightly moderate terms.”

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