Plastics

From its inception, the plastics industry has been remarkably successful. It would be difficult to find a market in the United States today in which plastics, either by themselves or in combination with other materials, do not play a vital role. Plastics are diversified, and the end is not in sight. Hundreds of millions of dollars continue to be spent by the industry each year in developing new plastics and improving existing ones.

The Plastics Industry Association (PIA) reported that the U.S. plastics industry produced more than $519 billion in annual shipments and employed more than 1.55 million people (including plastics suppliers). This reflected a 1.6 percent decline in employment from the previous year. Texas was the leading state for plastics jobs, at 77,400, followed by Ohio (74,300), California (72,300), Michigan (64,600), and Illinois (52,200), according to a September 2024 Plastics News article by Frank Esposito, which provided additional insight regarding the PIA’s annual "Size & Impact Report." More than 21 percent of materials and resins jobs were based in Texas, while Ohio claimed a leading 7.9 percent of plastic product-related employment. California accounted for a commanding 8.3 percent of captive plastic production jobs and 11.3 percent of positions in the plastics wholesale trade category, while Michigan accounted for a leading 12.9 percent of jobs in the plastics machinery category and 19.9 percent of all mold-making jobs.

The health of the plastics materials and resins subindustry is related to other industries, such as the automobile and construction industries. As these sectors show growth, so has the need for plastics materials and resins. Increasing recyclability is also spurring job growth as more of the U.S. population has access to a plastics recycling program.

The plastics products manufacturing industry employs around 16,450 engineers, 11,310 of whom are industrial engineers, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The industry also employs about 2,820 mechanical engineers. Across all industries, the BLS predicts much faster than average growth for these professions through 2033. However, U.S. plastics production has been impacted by competition from plastic manufacturing industries in other countries.

Molding, coremaking, and casting machine setters, operators, and tenders comprise one of the largest employee groups in this industry, with more than 78,000 workers. Employment of these workers, however, is expected to decline by about 1 percent through 2033 due to foreign competition and advances in automation that reduce the need for workers.

During the mid-2020s, colleges and universities were struggling to attract students to their plastics programs. An October 2024 Plastics News article by Jim Johnson attributed the situation to “a one-two punch of COVID-19 and society's growing distrust of plastics.” To address the enrollment crisis, which had been occurring for several years, a consortium was established by several schools. Additionally, there was a call for industry players to promote plastics careers to area high school students. “We're trying to share with [students] the opportunities that exist with a plastics career,” explained Viking Plastics CEO Shawn Gross. “And even for those that have concerns about microplastics and pollution, the narrative is you can be a solutions provider. And we want to bring aboard the next generation of solutions providers into our industry.”

Future trends in plastics will involve technology used to improve plastics and their manufacturing processes, make plastics more environmentally friendly, and make them more useful. Researchers are working on degradable plastics using biobased materials so that discarded plastics won't linger in the environment for years as ordinary plastics do. They are also working on ways to use nanotechnology to strengthen and improve plastics materials.